He had no idea
by xXHaneliXx
Summary: Sasuke had no idea what effect his betrayal had on Naruto. After a three year absence, the blond returns to Konoha - changed and with a new purpose. With his new team, he sets out to hunt down the Akatsuki. But what about the promise he made to Itachi?
1. Chapter 1

**The author says:** Hello and thanks for reading my story!

I have to say a few words regarding this story. I had the idea to write the same story only with different pairings. So there is a boyxboy version of the story 'He had no idea' with the pairing SasuNaruSasu and a boyxgirl version with the pairing SasuFemNaru. You are now reading the yaoi version. If you want to check out the other version, too, please see my profile. There's also a disclaimer, concerning this story.

Have fun reading ;)

**I don't own Naruto.**

_**12/02/2011: **I corrected some mistakes in this and also wanted to say that the first three chapters of this story are a bit angsty... But then there's also a lot of Action/Adventure, some poor attempts at Humour and of course Friendship and, eventually, Romance. The plot is not following canon, except for some major events. Such as Sasuke's defection. But other than that, it's different from the Manga/Anime._

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><p><strong>'He had no idea'<strong>

**Chapter 1**

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><p><em><strong>He wondered how he'd take it when he said goodbye<strong>_

_**Thought he might do some cryin', lose some sleep at night**_

_**But he had no idea, when he hit the road**_

_**That without him in his life, he'd let himself go**_

_**- 'She'd let herself go' by George Strait (slightly altered version)**_

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><p>The first thing he noticed when he came to, was the tell-tale smell of disinfectant mixed with the typical metallic smell of blood. Too often had he smelled the typical fragrance of his own blood, to not recognize it now. His eyes were still closed. Carefully he felt inside, assessing his own body, searching for broken bones, torn flesh or any other sign of severe injuries. There was a hollow pain in his chest; a dull, pulsating ache, making his breathing laboured. His right hand shot up and clenched the thin fabric covering his chest; <em>probably a hospital gown.<em> His fist pressed firmly against his breast bone, just above his heart, willing the feeling to go away. His handsome face contorted in evident pain. Full lips were pressed into a thin, hard line, teeth gritting together; eyes shut fiercely, to the point that wrinkles formed at the corners of them; the fingers of his left hand gripping the sheets forcefully, knuckles turning white.

An unintentional sob worked itself up his throat, choking him. A pitiful moan escaped his lips, making him wince, as he realized it was his own voice. The boy allowed himself a moment of pain, when the feeling in his chest spread throughout his body; numbing his arms, his fingers, reaching his legs, numbing every toe. The feeling took over, until he felt wetness on his scarred cheeks.

Writhing in pain on the uncomfortable hospital mattress, he tried to relax, forcing himself to push the pain back into his chest, confining it, making sure it wouldn't consume him. After all he was used to this feeling.

Slowly, his breathing became less strained. The wrinkles on his face softened.

The boy hesitantly opened his eyes, blinking against the bright light. Rays of sunlight were illuminating the white hospital room. He turned his head towards the windows, facing the sun. It had been raining the last time he had been outside.

His memories came back to him now, overwhelming him for a moment. He gasped as he realized it all had been real, too real. The feeling in his chest intensified. The clenched fist over his heart tightened. _No_, he pleaded silently, _Sasuke!_

He must have whispered the name of his formerly best friend aloud, because he heard feet shuffling at the end of his bed. His head turned sharply away from the window, now facing the people standing in his room. That he had not sensed them earlier was proof enough of his inner distress. Warily, he pushed himself into a sitting position, regarding the people in front of him with his ocean blue eyes.

"Naruto?" Tsunade addressed him softly. The Godaime Hokage had worry written all over her usually slightly grumpy face. "Do you remember what happened?"

Next to the Hokage stood Naruto's sensei, Hatake Kakashi. His one visible eye was focused on his charge for once, instead of his ever-present orange porn book. The mask on his face made it hard for people to read the lazy jounin, but Naruto could tell that he was worried as well.

The sound of his hoarse voice shocked him, when he answered. "I do remember, obaa-chan." He swallowed, his throat was dry. "Everything," he added bitterly.

_Naruto and Sasuke were facing each other in the Valley of the End. They had been fighting for some time already and the landscape had taken severe damage; as had both of their chakra supplies. Both were bleeding from several wounds and their energy was depleting steadily. Sasuke was in his cursed-seal form. Naruto had been disappointed when he saw him using the evil power Orochimaru had given him. The words that left the raven's mouth made him cringe._

"_Why are you doing this, Sasuke? Please, just come back to Konoha with me – come home with me!" Naruto's voice cried out to him; he sounded a little shaky. The use of the Kyuubi's chakra was affecting him greatly. Never before had he used the demon's chakra to this extent – and now he was willingly doing so. But he would do everything in his power to save the Uchiha._

_Sasuke's eyes were a blazing red from the activated Sharingan. The markings of the cursed seal were moving over his body. Naruto hoped that the other would soon reach his limit. This fight was taking its toll on him, he didn't know how much longer he would last. _I can't fail here, _he thought determinedly. _I have to bring him home... or else...

_Sasuke gave a mocking nod. His arms spread in a gesture of incredulity. "Why I am doing this? You're seriously asking me this, Naruto? This once again proves what a dobe you really are, dobe!"_

_Naruto gave no reaction to the usual insult. Sasuke's red eyes focused on the blond._

"_You are like poison," the raven forced out. "Your smiles are like stabs in my chest, Naruto! You slowly poisoned me with your cheery attitude and those blue eyes of yours! I know what I have to do! The only bond I can ever have is the bond of hatred with my brother, it's the only way to avenge my clan! But you..." the boy spat snidely, "you wormed your way into my heart! I felt my resolve weakening and all because of _you_! You made me believe that the bond we have is all I need to be strong! But you're _wrong_, Naruto. There's only space for one bond and you always knew of my ambition! You purposefully led me astray from my path-"_

"_Hatred doesn't make you strong, Sasu-" Naruto interrupted him._

"_I need to kill my brother, Naruto, and you will not stop me now! It's the only way and therefore I have to kill you! I must sever our bond. You have become my closest friend, Naruto. You are my _weakness_, my _only_ weakness. You hinder me from gaining true power."_

"_Your only weakness is your hatred, Sasuke! Please, don't leave me! What is it that I have to do to make you to stay?" his voice pleaded. His mind was unable to accept Sasuke's harsh words. Kill him? He needed to find a way to make him stay. Naruto never wanted to fight him in the first __place._

_The blond's too-blue eyes were mocking Sasuke, glistening with unshed tears._

_Naruto felt the situation slipping out of his hands with every word the raven spoke._

_The Uchiha snorted. "Dobe, that's easy. All you have to do, is _die_." He was regarding him coolly. "You and your stupid belief in the power of bonds. What is it you are fighting for?"_

"_How can you want to kill me, you said it yourself. I'm your closest friend! I-"_

"_Answer my question, dobe! What is it, you are fighting for?" he harshly cut him off._

"_You know what I'm fighting for, Sasuke. Keeping my precious people save, it's what makes one truly strong!"_

"_-then why aren't you able to defeat me, dobe? This is ridiculous! How is this supposed to help me kill my brother? You are my only precious person, Naruto. Why am I not strong, then? This bond is useless! All it does is holding me back! _You _are holding me back! You are a liability, dobe!"_

_The blond's tears were running freely now. "Sasuke, please don't do this! Don't leave me!"_

"_Look at yourself now, dobe! You sound like that weakling Sakura! You're pathetic, you disgust me!" Sasuke's snarl was deeply hurting his feelings._

_He had been the only one to ever acknowledge him. Without him, Naruto would still be lonely. If Sasuke left him, he would be lonely again. There would be no one to ease the pain created by the hatred of the villagers. No one he could turn to for help, if he wasn't getting a new jutsu down. His silent presence over the years had comforted him whenever the hollow pain in his chest tried to overwhelm him._

_He remembered the first six years of his life only too well; the time before he had known Sasuke. These six years had been filled with solitude and despair. A six-year-old child could only take so much. He had been close to the point of mentally breaking, when he had been enrolled in the academy. Sure, he had made some friends; Kiba, Shikamaru and Chouji. But to none of them had he developed the kind of deep heartfelt bond he and Sasuke shared. He wouldn't accept this! He just needed to explain himself!_

"_I'll be alone again, if you leave me! I don't want to be alone again, please-" he tried._

"Alone_? I've been alone as well, dobe."_

"_Sasuke, I knew you were always alone. I… I used to be glad I found you, someone like me. I was... happy. From first glance, I wanted to know you… But… it wasn't that simple. You could do anything. You were always so popular with all your fangirls and the people praising you as the last Uchiha." He stopped to sigh._

"_We're different, you and I. I was frustrated when you hardly reacted to my attempts of becoming your friend and I decided you were my rival! I had to beat you… especially what with everyone calling me a loser, a dobe." He winced slightly at his own words._

"_Then they threw us together in cell number seven, and I couldn't be more happy. Stubborn as I was… I never let on what I really felt. Truth was, I wanted to be just like you. You were my idol. And so… hearing that you wanted to fight me too, during the chunin exams… I was never happier." A small smile proved his words to be nothing but the truth._

"_With those words, for the first time… you acknowledged I was good. And… yes, without even trading blows… without saying a word, I knew right then and there… we were friends. You don't show it openly, but I know... the small gestures, they mean so much to me. You have no idea, what __they mean to me! It's not insignificant to me, you're… my closest friend. And yet… here you are, intend on _killing _me. So I don't know what to believe any more. Did you ever mean what you said, the way you acted towards me when no one was looking?" His blue eyes dared him to deny it._

"_Do you mean it when you say I'm your closest friend? Or am I deluding myself? That would make me so stupid, Sasuke... You're probably right. After all, I'm just the stupid dobe everyone thinks I am... _you _think I am." (1) _

_The addressed raven could only stare at the crying boy in front of him. His Sharingan had unknowingly deactivated somewhere during the speech. He was used to Naruto talking a lot, but never had his words touched him like that._

_He felt his chest tighten. Warmth was slowly spreading throughout his body. _What is this feeling?_ he wondered. _Why are his words affecting me like this? _Hesitantly he took a step closer to the boy he called his closest friend. Deep down he felt the urge to... _to hug him and comfort him?

_His head snapped to focus on Naruto's face and eyes. Sasuke could see hope sparkling in them. _Is he hoping his little talk convinced me? _He stopped dead in his steps. _

_Realization hit him. "You're doing it again!" Sasuke pointed at the blond accusingly._

_Confusion crossed over Naruto's face. He had hoped he would come to him now and tell him that he was sorry and that he'd come back with him. _How naïve. _"I didn't do anythi-"_

"_The hell you didn't!" His sharingan activated anew in his anger. "Those feelings you create-" he hit his own chest with a clenched fist, "-they make me forget! They make me think I need you!" He shook his head in disbelief and anger. "I even thought about _comforting _you!"_

"_I won't give you the chance to influence me again! I don't know how you do it, but you won't replace my hatred with this warm feeling!" He was yelling once again._

_Sasuke's face contorted in rage. He drew on the power of the cursed seal. Naruto watched in horror as the raven's pale skin turned grey. Hand-like wings sprouted from between his shoulder blades, ripping his blue shirt. His hair grew and took on a bluish-grey colour._

_Naruto's eyes widened when he felt the immense increase in Sasuke's chakra. _So this is Orochimaru's power, huh, _he marvelled. He had only one way to counter this power. He needed to draw on the Nine-tails's chakra – again. But he'd do anything to stop Sasuke. The Uchiha was intending to kill him, Naruto couldn't hesitate now._

_The blond felt deep inside himself, silently ordering the Kyuubi to lend him his chakra, his power. Immediately, he felt the evil power surge through him. Apparently the fox had also realized the seriousness of the situation and was practically throwing his chakra at him. Overwhelmed by power and the evil intent of the fox, he staggered for a second._

_The red chakra manifested. Now it was Sasuke's turn to stare. Although Naruto had used the evil chakra in their fight before, the power leaking from him was twice – maybe even thrice – as powerful as before._

What is this chakra? _Sasuke__ took in the younger boy's changing appearance. The whisker marks on his cheeks deepened and widened, his already pretty sharp canines became more pointed. His fingernails lengthened to claws. But what shocked him most was the change of the eyes Sasuke secretly loved so much. Blue bled to a deep crimson and his pupils became slitted. The sunny blond suddenly looked feral._

_Sasuke shrugged off his silent amazement and gathered his chakra. Blue lightning formed in his right hand, creating the sound of thousand birds – Chidori._

_Naruto quickly formed a shadow clone. Together they formed a blue spiralling sphere – Rasengan._

_The shadow clone dispelled._

_Naruto focused on Sasuke. His slitted eyes were hard now. The time for talking was over. He had failed to persuade him with words. He obviously had to defeat him and drag him back to Konoha._

_Sasuke charged and jumped. Naruto followed. Their attacks clashed._

_All Naruto remembered was the building energy. And then – blackness._

_Naruto didn't know how long it took for him to regain consciousness, but the heavy rain woke him up. Immediately, he gasped. Breathing was unnaturally hard. It felt like not enough air was reaching his lungs. Greedily drawing on air, he choked as blood filled his mouth. Coughs shook his body. Only then did he feel the pain._

_Pain of a kind he had never felt before. A hand reached up to his chest, intending to claw at the fabric, to pull away anything that might constrict his chest – but grabbed _nothing.

_There was a hole in his chest. A _hole. _Sasuke's chidori had pierced his thorax only a hair's breadth over his heart._

He really tried to kill me_, he thought. The unmeasurable pain in his chest became too much to bear. Deep inside himself, something shattered as the realization of Sasuke's betrayal fully reached his mind._

_He willingly gave in to the blackness that swallowed him again._

Next thing Naruto remembered was coming out of the ER. By the time Kakashi had reached him and brought him back to Konoha, the Kyuubi had almost completely healed his wounds. Tsunade still insisted on performing surgery on him, though. After waking up, he had delivered his report in a monotone. No emotion had crossed his face. Tsunade had finally decided to give him a tranquillizer. He had just come to mere moments ago.

"Naruto?" Kakashi's gentle question brought him back to reality. The two adults had seen the anguish on Naruto's face, while he obviously recalled the events responsible for his current condition.

He shrugged the memory off with an effort. A lump built in his throat. He swallowed. It wouldn't go away. He tried to concentrate on something else. "How long have I been out?"

"Three days," Tsunade answered him. Her eyes were still fixed on his small form in the hospital bed. "Your wounds have healed, but for some unknown reason I couldn't heal the scar over your heart," Tsunade went on. "It almost felt as if Kyuubi was messing with it. I wonder why he didn't heal it himself, though." She put two fingers under her chin in her usual thinking pose.

Naruto paused at this information. Why was Kyuubi messing with his healing? Normally the demon would heal him completely. Maybe it was meant as a punishment, because he had used a huge amount of his chakra?

He shook his head again, there were more important things he had to deal with. _Sasuke_, the name crossed his mind unbiddenly. The pain in his chest suddenly doubled. He gasped. His hand clawed at the poor hospital gown.

_He really tried to kill me, _his thoughts were racing. _But he said I was his closest friend. How could he do this to me? _He thought about his words.

/_This bond is useless! All it does is holding me back! _You _are holding me back! You are a liability, dobe!/_

Was it really his fault? Maybe if he hadn't tried to befriend Sasuke, he would've become stronger? He wouldn't have felt the need to leave Konoha. He would've stayed and become powerful. Naruto had slowed him down. His asking him for help had kept him from training. He shouldn't have bugged him with his problems. He had been selfish to think that he'd always help him. And he was so stupid. It had taken so much time. Sasuke always needed to explain things several times before he understood him. People always said he was a prodigy. He had held Sasuke back, Naruto realized.

/_Look at yourself now, dobe! You're pathetic, you disgust me!/_

He was weak, pathetic. He had not been strong enough to get him back. He had failed. _I really am weak, huh, teme? _he thought bitterly. _I'm sorry, Sasuke. I can see it clearly now. This bond only helped _me_. I was too afraid of being alone that I forgot to ask if you actually wanted me to be your friend._

_/You have become my closest friend, Naruto. You are my only precious person, Naruto./_

_Why would he say this then? Was it a lie?_

/_You are my _weakness_, my only weakness. You hinder me from gaining true power./_

_I hindered him._ Maybe Sasuke had meant it; that he was his closest friend. But his words lost their meaning as soon as he had tried to kill him; as the chidori pierced his chest. But he had missed his heart... Sasuke never missed his aim. _Did he reconsider? Maybe he was aiming for my heart, but changed his direction on purpose in the last second? _he pondered, desperately searching for a way to minimize the extent of the raven's betrayal. But deep within himself, Naruto knew he was deluding himself. His best friend _had _put a chidori through his chest. He _had _aimed to _kill him._ To sever their bond.

And it was all his fault.

Naruto's breath accelerated. He was hyperventilating. The fist on his chest gripped the fabric even tighter, trying to ease the increasing pain in his thorax. His head felt funny, he needed more oxygen.

"He's having a panic attack!" Tsunade alerted Kakashi. Naruto was not even aware of their voices.

Tsunade ordered Kakashi to "Try calm him down!" while she raced out the door to get something to sedate the boy.

Naruto hardly felt his sensei's arms pulling him against his broad chest; how he patted his back and soothingly stroked his spiky hair. He faintly heard the whispered words of encouragement. Sobs were violently shaking his small body.

Kakashi winced as he heard the whispered words that left Naruto's mouth like a mantra. _"He tried to kill me he tried to kill me he tried to kill me he..."_

"Sh, Naruto, he won't kill you. I promise!" the grey haired jounin spoke softly into his charge's ear.

Kakashi didn't know whether it were his words of reassurance or rather the lack of oxygen that made the boy stop. But he quietly fell asleep, before Tsunade came back with the tranquillizer.

_He already did kill me, _were the boy's last thoughts before he passed out again.

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><p>In an underground lair, far away from Konoha, Sasuke sat on the bed of his cell of a room. Orochimaru had welcomed him personally and congratulated him for his decision. His training would begin in three days when his wounds had healed. The wounds, which the dobe had caused.<p>

The raven ran a weary hand over his eyes. He was exhausted. If Kabuto hadn't reached him, he doubted that he had gotten to the lair on his own.

_Naruto... _he had been so strong. Sasuke had to silently admit it. The boy had surprised him. The red chakra that had leaked out of him had amazed him. He had had no idea that this kind of power was sleeping inside the blond. _What is your secret, dobe?_

_After their attacks had clashed, Sasuke found himself kneeling above Naruto. Their foreheads almost touched. He couldn't hear his breathing. That was good, right? He wanted him dead! But why did his chest feel like it was on fire? The normally hollow ache of loneliness was raging in his chest. He had _killed _him! He should be happy! But what was this feeling? He had the inkling that he had felt it before... _But when? _He couldn't remember._

_He tried to crawl closer to the blond. As if in slow motion, his headband with the Leaf insignia fell from him. His eyes caught the scratch that neatly cut the leaf in half. Unwillingly, he felt himself smirk. _You actually did it, dobe. You scratched my forehead.

_The smirk left his face as soon as the first drops of heavy rain hit his bruised skin. The rain reminded him of the time that had passed. He had to leave before back-up arrived!_

_But first he had to check on the dobe. His fingers were shaking terribly as he placed them on the side of his throat, above his carotid. He felt for the pulse, inwardly begging his fingers to give him a reassuring pulsation. But there was none._

I killed him. _The ache in his chest exploded to new heights. He would have passed out then and there, if not for his sudden urge to get away from the corpse of his formerly best friend. He could no longer stay here. He had killed Naruto._

Sasuke remembered the feeling as his chidori had connected with Naruto's skin. Bony ribs gave in, breaking under the power of his attack. He had felt his hand gliding through the soft tissue of Naruto's lung. Again ribs and then – nothing. His hand had punched a hole in the smaller boy's thorax.

Sasuke forced himself out of the memory. Slowly, his racing thoughts calmed down. He didn't know why he had thought that the dobe was dead. But he had proof that he wasn't. His Mangekyou Sharingan had not activated. He hadn't killed Naruto.

The warm feeling that followed this realization, eased the pain in his chest a little. What was it? _Relief..._ he understood. With that last thought, Sasuke fell back on his bed, asleep before his head even touched the pillow.

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><p>Sasuke had no idea that the pain in his chest was the same kind of pain, he had felt several years ago, when he had stumbled upon a scene he'd never forget. It was the night of the Uchiha massacre. Seeing his brother standing over his dead parents, comprehending that his beloved aniki had murdered everyone that was dear to him – from that day on there was a pain in his chest.<p>

It became dull over the years, but still was his eternal companion. The boy had no idea that the only time his chest felt lighter and not as cramped, was when he was around a certain blond boy.

And he had no idea that the other boy felt the same. And although Sasuke now knew that he had not succeeded in killing him, he was probably lucky that he had no idea that his actions and his hateful words were the so-called tip of the iceberg. He had no idea that his words had brought Naruto closer to the edge of insanity as ever before. It was a tightrope walk. All it would need was the tiniest push, and he'd fall over the edge.

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><p><em>1) this is what Naruto actually said to Sasuke, I just modified it to fit the flow of the story. (Ch. 227 &amp; 228)<em>

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it so far!<strong>

**Please let me know what you think! Criticism is much appreciated, since this is my first story!  
><strong>

_**xXHaneliXx**_


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own Naruto.**

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><p><strong>'He had no idea'<strong>

**Chapter 2**

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><p><em><strong>Don't know where he belongs, where he belongs<br>He wants to go home, but nobody's home  
>It's where he lies, broken inside<br>With no place to go, no place to go to dry his eyes  
>Broken inside<strong>_

_**His feelings he hides.  
>His dreams he can't find.<br>He's losing his mind.  
>He's fallen behind.<br>He can't find his place.  
>He's losing his faith.<br>He's fallen from grace. **_

_**- 'Nobody's home' by Avril Lavigne (altered)**_

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><p><em>Is this how Sasuke always felt? Betrayed... by his own brother? <em>Naruto pondered. He had been released from the hospital some hours ago and was now walking through the streets of Konoha to his favourite ramen stand. He was going to have lunch with Kiba, Chouji and Shikamaru.

His thoughts, though, were not on his favourite dish, but on the boy he had fought over a week ago. The sharp pain in his chest had receded to the dull ache he was used to. It would sometimes spike and he had to gasp, but had been able to cover it up as a cough for the last couple of days.

Kakashi had held him while he had cried his eyes out over Sasuke's betrayal. His sensei tried to comfort him, but he had not been present in the Valley of the End. He had not heard, what Naruto had heard. The tone in Sasuke's voice; unfeeling and accusing.

By now Naruto had convinced himself that Sasuke's defection had been his fault. He had gone over the raven's words, over and over again. Tormenting himself with the guilt he felt and the pain of loss.

Never before had he lost anyone that close to him. The Sandaime Hokage maybe, but they had not been as close as Sasuke and Naruto were. The boy felt like something was missing, like he gave up a part of himself. The pain in his chest was proof. It had always been there, reminding him of his loneliness, but being with Sasuke had eased the pain.

But the pain of loss – it was hurting him so much. It made it hard to breathe and his mind was running in circles. _This is what Sasuke must've felt every day of his life, since his brother killed his clan._ He had no idea in how much pain Sasuke must've been. He seldom let it show. Naruto doubted that anyone besides him had ever seen Sasuke actually admitting that he was in pain.

A heavy sigh left him. He knew he was frowning, but thinking about Sasuke caused his mood to go downhill. With his head bowed and deep in thoughts he almost missed it when he arrived at his destination. He was the first of them, so he decided to wait in front of the stand.

Still lost in his thoughts, the blond didn't see the attack coming.

A fist suddenly connected brutally with the side of his face. He was thrown to the floor by the force of the punch.

Immediately, his ninja training kicked in and he got up in a crouching position, hands held in front of him, ready to defend himself. His eyes quickly located the assailant.

A raging girl with pink hair stood in front of him, arm still outstretched after the heavy punch she'd thrown.

"Sa-Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked insecurely. He hadn't seen his pink-haired team mate for over a week. Sakura had been the only one, who had not paid him a visit in the hospital. When he had asked Kakashi why Sakura was not coming, he had answered evasively.

This was the first time he saw her since he came back from the failed mission. But why was she attacking him? He would probably find out soon enough.

"Don't 'Sakura-chan' me!" the pink-haired girl yelled. Her cheeks were red from rage. "How could you?" Her finger was pointing at Naruto accusingly.

The addressed blond stood up from his crouching position. He was not completely sure whether the danger had passed, but this was Sakura. She probably had a good reason to hit him, Naruto thought, right?

By now a crowd had gathered around them. Villagers were watching them curiously. Many of them recognized the 'Kyuubi brat'. Naruto faintly heard the whispered insults directed at him. Accusatory eyes fixed on him. The boy felt like a mouse in front of a cat.

"Sakura-chan, please, what did I do?" Hesitantly he took a step closer to his female team mate.

But said girl immediately took a step backwards. "Don't come near me, Naruto!" Her voice was high-pitched and the bystanders could hear her clearly. "Don't you dare come near me _ever_ again!"

Confusion was written all over the Jinchuuriki's face. _What's going on?_ His mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.

"You _promised_, Naruto! You promised me to bring him back!" Sakura shrieked.

_Him? So this is about Sasuke, _Naruto sighed. He should have seen it coming. He remembered the promise he had made to Sakura before he left on the retrieval mission. Naruto knew he had failed and Kami knew he was blaming himself enough for it. Still he had assumed that once he explained the situation to Sakura, the girl would understand. And there was always next time. Right? But you know what they say about assume.

"Sakura-chan, please let me explain. I-" he tried to reason with the furious girl.

"No, Naruto! I don't want to hear your lame excuses! I should have known from the start that you wouldn't be able to bring him back! After all, what did you ever achieve? You're not the dead-last for nothing! Sasuke was right, you're a dobe!" She was gesticulating wildly in her blind anger.

The crowd was silently watching them, fascinated by the display and open dislike shown to the demon brat.

Naruto felt increasingly unwell. Something wet was dripping from his nose onto his lower lip. Irritated, he ran a hand over his mouth. His hand came away red with blood. His nose was bleeding. Sakura actually hit him hard enough to make his nose bleed.

What was it that all his team mates were out for his blood these days? The cynical thought made Naruto wince. He shouldn't think like that. Sakura was just confused and hurting from the loss of a team mate. _It's the pain talking, it's not that she really means it,_ Naruto fiercely tried to convince himself.

"I know you're hurt, Sakura-chan. But I will get him back when-" Once more he was interrupted by the pinkette.

"No, Naruto. I don't want you to do anything for me anymore! Consider yourself released from your promise! You were the wrong person to put my hopes on! You're _useless_!"

_Useless, huh? _That's what Sasuke had called him, too. The dull pain in his chest spiked again. He resisted the urge to claw at his heart. With all the villagers watching, he didn't dare to show any weakness. He knew they would use it against him.

The blond took another step towards his team mate. He just had to make her understand.

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><p>Chouji, Kiba and Shikamaru were making their way to the ramen stand, when they saw the large crowd gathered in front of it. They had run a little late, because Akamaru had stopped at every corner, sniffing.<p>

The boys heard high-pitched yelling coming from the centre of the crowd. They weaselled through the gapers and reached the front lines.

Their eyes widened when they saw that the commotion was caused by a yelling Sakura, who was confronting a crouching Naruto.

"What's going on, man?" Kiba mouthed what all of them were thinking. Open-mouthed they stared at the pink-haired girl, who was openly demoting her team mate.

Naruto was bleeding from his nose and his cheek was red and slightly swollen. _Sakura must've punched Naruto, _Shikamaru deduced quickly. "Troublesome."

"_I HATE YOU, NARUTO!"_ Sakura shrieked.

The boys watched, stunned, how she stepped closer to Naruto, _slapped_ him and spat – _spat – _in Naruto's face.

An eerie silence descended upon the crowd. They only parted enough to let Sakura leave the scene.

And Naruto... he was obviously shocked. His blue eyes were wide and unblinking; staring ahead, unfocused. In slow motion his hand came up to his face, wiping at the spit on it. Fascinated, he stared at his hand. His blood had mixed with Sakura's spit. A sticky, wet substance.

Never in all his life had he felt this humiliated. Naruto focused on the wetness on his hand. The red blood was mocking him. He could no longer delude himself. This had not been the anger talking. Sakura meant every word. His second and last team mate had turned her back on him.

For the second time in only one week, Naruto felt something shatter inside him. He could swear that this time, he actually heard the clanking of the shards. The pain in his chest came back with full force. The bloodied hand clawed at his heart. An expression of pure anguish crossed his features.

But he must not allow himself to break down in front of the villagers. He must not show them his weakness. Schooling his face to a blank mask in an Uchiha-like manner, he let his hand fall back to his side. Numbness was engulfing him. It was probably a protective mechanism and pure survival instinct that kept him on his feet.

He didn't even flinch when two hands were carefully placed on his shoulders. "Naruto?" Kiba's voice caught his attention. The Inuzuka gently pulled him away from the agitated people and into the ramen stand. Shikamaru and Chouji made sure that no one was following them.

They gently pushed him down on a stool and crouched in front of him, trying to get a reaction from the boy. "Naruto?" Kiba waved a hand in front of his face. No reaction. "Naruto? Naru!"

"Kiba, stop it. He's in shock," Shikamaru assessed the situation. "Chouji," he turned to the chubby boy, "run to the Hokage tower and tell Hokage-sama what happened. Tell her she needs to send someone to get Naruto. I guess Kakashi-sensei would be the best candidate."

Kiba was glad that the genius had taken control of the situation. He had no idea how to handle this. Naruto was not supposed to look like this. The blond boy was always cheerful and smiling, blue eyes sparkling with mischief. But now – there was nothing in those blue eyes. No emotion. He expected to find pain and hurt, but there was just _nothing_. Kiba hoped that Kakashi would arrive quickly.

Shikamaru tried talking to the boy, but to no success. Even coaxing him to eat a bowl of his beloved ramen didn't get a reaction from him.

Finally Kakashi appeared with a 'poof'. He nodded a quick 'thanks' to the two boys, gently picked Naruto up bridal style and both disappeared with another 'poof'.

Together they ended up in Kakashi's apartment. The small figure in his arms was light. The boy was in shock. Kakashi had seen this kind of reaction to traumatizing events from other shinobi several times before.

He carefully placed the blond on his bed. He took off his shoes, but didn't dare remove his jacket, in case Naruto might think he was attacking him. Kakashi covered him with his blanket and tucked him in.

After cleaning his face with a wet cloth, he then settled in an arm chair he had placed in front of the bed. He was going to watch him. No one would harm him tonight. And if he had a say in it, no one would ever harm him again.

The boy on the bed felt oddly detached from reality. His numb body wasn't bothering him. For once, the ever-present pain in his chest had left him. His mind refused to make sense of what had happened. The only thought that was repeating in his head endlessly was _Sakura hates me Sakura hates me Sakura hates me Sakura hates me..._

He didn't know how long the mantra played in his head, but finally he was able to fall asleep. But it was not the kind of sleep that soothes you and makes you wake up refreshed. It was a sleep filled with dreams and memories of Sasuke.

"_Sasuke?" a small voice whispered._

_No answer. The regular breathing coming from the hospital bed suggested that Sasuke was asleep. The room was dark. The moonlight was casting grey shadows. It smelled of disinfectant and grief._

_Naruto thought about his options. He could either switch on the lights and wake him up. Or he could just sneak up to him and wake him up – and probably scare him to death._

_The eight-year-old frowned. He had not planned for Sasuke to be asleep when he came to visit him. But now, considering the late hour, Naruto realized he should've expected this to be the case._

_Sasuke had not been in school today and Naruto was worried about the boy. Something had happened last night, he just knew it, but Iruka-sensei didn't want to tell him. He just said that Sasuke was in the hospital. So Naruto had sneaked in here to make sure that his rival was okay._

_The blond carefully tiptoed over to the bed and looked down on said rival. Sasuke was lying on his back, one arm over his head; his other hand tightly gripping onto the blanket. There was a frown on his pale face, even in sleep. The moonlight illuminated his white skin. Naruto thought he saw the traces of dried tears on his cheeks. Had he been crying?_

_Naruto carefully bent down and very softly brushed a lock of black hair out of his face. Sasuke's eyelids fluttered, but remained shut. His breathing stayed regular, he didn't wake._

_When Naruto would later think about the reason for why he crawled into bed next to the young Uchiha, he had no answer. All he could think of was that he felt the sudden urge to comfort him and to be close to him. It was probably intuition that made him take off his shoes, remove his bulky orange jacket and lift the blanket. Naruto climbed into bed and very carefully snuggled close to his rival from school. Sasuke smelled of the citrus shampoo he always used. He liked the smell. Inhaling deeply, his breathing soon evened out and he fell asleep, too._

_Some time during the night, Sasuke woke up, gasping for air. His fear-filled eyes couldn't see in the darkness of the hospital room. He wanted to sit up, but felt a weight on his chest. Panicking he tried to pull the weight off of him, but whatever it was only tightened its grip around him. He tried to calm down and slowly became aware of his surroundings. He was in the hospital. Not inside of Itachi's Tsukuyomi. He sighed in relief – but halted when he remembered the weight on his chest._

_His wandering hands swiftly recognized the weight to be a person clinging to him. A head was resting on his chest. In the moonlight the blond hair had a silver shine to it. But Sasuke would know this spiky hair anywhere. _What is he doing here?_ the young boy wondered as he recognized his academy rival._

_Sasuke didn't know what to make of this. In the academy they communicated mostly by insulting each other. Although Naruto always chatted to him animately, he would only nod his head once in a while and give one of his neutral 'Hn' to shut the annoying boy up. Why was he in his bed?_

_Sasuke then caught a whiff of the scent of his hair. It smelled like the woods outside of Konoha, like fresh air and... _sun? Does the sun even have a smell? _Sasuke wasn't sure if the sun had a smell, but he was sure that the boy in his arms smelled like it. _How fitting, _he thought and inhaled deeply._

_When Sasuke would later think about the reason for why he didn't push the blond out of his bed, he had no answer. All he could think of was that he felt somehow comforted by his presence and maybe even reassured that he was not alone – even after what had happened just the night before. His brother had murdered his parents and the entire clan. He was alone now. He felt a pang of grief in his chest and his eyes were suddenly stinging with hot tears. It was probably intuition that made him hug the boy closer to his chest and bury his face in his untamed hair. It muffled his silent sobs and filled his nose with the smell of the sun. He didn't realize how his presence made his chest feel lighter._

_Sasuke had no idea that the boy in his arms was wide awake since he had woken from the nightmare. The attempt to shove him off of him had woken him, but Naruto had refused to let go, quietly dreading Sasuke would tell him to leave._

_Sasuke had no idea that Naruto witnessed his moment of weakness, how he wetted his hair with his tears._

* * *

><p>He did not realize that this was the first time someone aside from his mother and brother was hugging him – and that he was hugging back.<p>

He had no idea that this would not be the last time Naruto would hug him.

He did also not realize that this was the first time he shared a bed with a boy – with his rival of all people.

He had no idea that this would not be the last time he would share a bed with Naruto.

* * *

><p>In Otogakure, Sasuke awoke from his dream or rather memory. <em>Why do I remember this now?<em> It had been the night after what would be known as 'the Uchiha massacre'. Naruto had visited him during the night. Although Naruto had not known what had happened to his clan, he'd somehow known that Sasuke was in need of a friend; though the boy would never admit it.

They had woken up early in the next morning, when the first rays of sunshine had blinded them. To Sasuke's surprise, he was still hugging the smaller body tightly, clinging to him like a lifeline. He felt... content and somehow... safe. But as soon as the drowsiness of sleep had left him, he tensed.

The boy in his arms must've felt it, because he wiggled free from his arms and sat up. They had been staring at each other for some moments, before the blond had gotten off the bed. He had put on his jacket and shoes and meant to leave. However, he had turned back around to him and crossed the distance between them in two quick steps. He had bent over Sasuke, who was still lying in the hospital bed, and shyly placed an affectionate kiss on his cheek. Before the bewildered boy had time to react, Naruto was gone.

Naruto had never seen him blush a very un-Uchiha-like blush. He had never seen the tiniest of smiles on his face. And he had no idea that he was grateful, even if Sasuke would never admit that to himself.

They had never talked about it; as they had not talked about so much else.

The next day Sasuke had been back in school and everyone had known about his treacherous brother. He was now called the 'Last Uchiha' and sadly that had somehow made him more appealing to his fangirls.

Naruto had only given him a small smile as greeting. It had not been his usual toothy grin, he would flash at every given chance. No, it had been a small, genuine smile. Saying so much without actually speaking a single word.

"Teme," he had greeted him. He had looked him in the eyes, knowing he'd see what he couldn't express otherwise. "Dobe," Sasuke had answered and Naruto's trademark foxy grin was back in place.

_Dobe..._ Sasuke couldn't get him out of his mind. Maybe, if his brother hadn't killed the clan, he would have been able to lead a normal life. He'd never have had to dedicate his life to revenge; he could've been a normal thirteen-year-old, relatively carefree teenager and shinobi. But here he was, training under Konoha's number one enemy, Orochimaru.

His training had begun two days ago. Orochimaru was already making him sweat harder in only two days than Kakashi ever managed during the time of Team Seven. Although every muscle in his body was hurting, Sasuke knew this was what he had wanted. A sensei, whose sole attention was directed at him. The snake would train him and eventually he'd be able to kill his brother.

_Itachi,_ the name crossed his mind. He was the reason for all his suffering. He had been his idol, the person he had looked up to. Itachi represented everything Sasuke had always wanted to be. His betrayal had scarred him. The constant dull aching of his chest increased a little.

Now Sasuke suddenly remembered that he had felt the same pain when he had first arrived in Orochimaru's hideout. It was the pain of loss. Pure grief that had almost overwhelmed him in the days after the massacre. When he had been all alone.

He recalled Naruto's words. The ones he had said when he had faced him in the Valley of the End. He had begged him not to leave him alone.

/_I'll be alone again, if you leave me! I don't want to be alone again./_

What did he mean? Sasuke knew that the boy was an orphan and that he lived alone. Kami, he had seen his filthy apartment. No parent would allow their child to live like that. But surely there was someone who looked after him, right? He frowned when he realized that he had never asked the dobe about his family.

Thinking about it, there was a lot that Sasuke didn't know about the boy. _Why did he say he doesn't want to be alone again? It's not like he actually is alone... right? He has a lot of friends... hasn't he? I mean, he's pretty likeable once you overlook his loudness and clumsiness... _Sasuke was sure he had seen the boy with the dog-boy and the lazy Nara. And even with the fatso Chouji. _H__e won't be alone just because I left! Why the hell am I even caring about it?_

Sasuke ran a hand over his eyes. Why was he still thinking about that dobe? He had defeated him. Even if he hadn't killed him. Sasuke was over him. He had left him behind, because he was hindering him. Right? He was the only reason why he was still weak. He had distracted him from his true ambition. So what, if Sasuke said he was his closest friend? So maybe he was inwardly asking himself if he was okay, but... This didn't change anything!

His body trembled in anger, as he realized that the boy was once again worming himself into his thoughts. "Stupid dobe," he hissed. He swung his legs over the edge of his bed and put on his training attire. He had to get him out of his mind. He'd train until the thought of him finally left his mind. Until the pain in his chest would go away. He stormed out of his room angrily.

* * *

><p>Sasuke had no idea that the boy on his mind was having similar thoughts.<p>

Naruto awoke from his dream, feeling restless. Apparently the teme would even bother him in his sleep. Annoyed, he struggled with the blanket. Judging from the scent, he was in Kakashi's bed. He vaguely remembered being picked up by him after – the incident suddenly came back to him. _After Sakura said she hates me._

He had lost his second team mate in only a weak. He had somehow driven them all away. There was no Team Seven any more. He was alone. _Again_. The only one who was left was Kakashi. _Let's see how long he'll last_, the cynical thought crossed Naruto's mind.

Although Naruto was blaming himself, he had come to the result that Sakura had never been particularly friendly to him. The pinkette would use every opportunity to belittle him – especially in front of Sasuke. She'd hit him for the absurdest reasons. Sakura certainly was violent. And Naruto would mostly be on the receiving end of it. All his attempts to befriend Sakura had been fruitless. The girl never agreed to go eat ramen with him. She was always focused on the teme; obsessively so. Naruto knew since the academy that Sakura was Sasuke's number one fangirl. Maybe this should have been reason enough to be apprehensive. But Naruto had been desperately trying to make friends. The fangirls hated him, the others hardly tolerated him and the boys, well he had formed some kind of friendship with Kiba, Chouji and Shikamaru during detention and pranking.

Still, Naruto came to the conclusion that Sakura had not really deserved his regret. Naruto had once again deluded himself. There never was a friendship in the first place between them. They had been team mates and even then the pink-haired kunoichi had mainly ignored or insulted him.

Staring at the ceiling of Kakashi's dark bedroom, Naruto made a decision. He would not go through this pain again. _Sasuke was right after all – I had no idea how he felt, because I never had anyone I cared about. I was always alone. Being alone hurt less than losing your precious people._

He suppressed a snort as he thought about his own naiveté. Bonds, what were they actually good for? He had believed in them, but he couldn't find the reason for that belief any more. He had been betrayed twice. He was not sure if he'd mentally survive another betrayal. He just needed to find a way to not get hurt again. He'd have to be very careful in whom he'd place his trust in the future.

* * *

><p><strong>The author says: Sorry to all the Sakura-fans out there!<strong>

**I don't particularly hate her, but she's definitely not one of my favourite characters either. At first I thought she had improved a lot and I really started to like her, especially after the fight with Sasori... But then she tried to 'take care of Naruto' and tried to stop him from chasing after Sasuke by lying to him and telling him she loved him? The girl kinda lost my respect there.**

**Still she will grow up in this fic eventually, that's all I say, so don't be mad at me, please!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**xXHaneliXx**


	3. Chapter 3

**The author says: **Thanks to my first reviewer **KateKyuu**! Here's your reward ;) And thanks to everyone else for reading, of course!

Enjoy and let me know what you think ;)

**I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

><p><strong>'He had no idea'<strong>

**Chapter 3**

* * *

><p><strong>Look what he's done to you<strong>

**it isn't fair**

**Your light was bright and new**

**But he didn't care**

**He took the heart of a little boy**

**and made it grow up too fast**

**- 'Broken girl' by Matthew West (altered)**

* * *

><p>Three days after the incident with Sakura, Nara Shikamaru was walking through the dark streets of Konoha. Hokage-sama had asked Kiba, Chouji and him to give a report about what they had witnessed in front of the ramen stand.<p>

None of the Rookie 9 plus Team Gai had seen Sakura since the confrontation. But none of them were really trying to see her. They were disappointed of her behaviour. Even Ino admitted that Sakura had gone too far with her obsession over the Uchiha. Naruto was a nice boy and all of them liked his lively nature. They saw how the blond quietly suffered from the defection of his best friend. Sakura's words must've been pretty harsh on him.

Shikamaru sighed. With his hands in his pockets, he lazily looked skywards. It was a clear night and the stars were twinkling. But unfortunately no clouds to watch. "Troublesome."

He was nearing a corner on which he had to turn left, when he heard muffled cries. He stopped to listen carefully. A deep voice could be heard, but he didn't catch any words. The noise was coming from an alley on his right. Shikamaru silently debated with himself. He could take the easy way, turn left, get home and stay out of trouble. Or he could act like the chunin he now was, check on the noise and for once not give in to his laziness.

The pineapple-haired chunin sighed once again. "Troublesome," he muttered but decidedly took the right turn instead of the left.

Soundlessly he jumped from shadow to shadow for that whoever was causing the noise wouldn't hear him. But he needn't have bothered. Standing at the mouth of the alley, he saw three heavy men standing over a small figure.

"Die, demon," one of the men spat at the figure. Shikamaru briefly registered the insult.

They were too engrossed in kicking and beating up the person on the ground that they didn't hear Shikamaru approach them from behind.

He felt quite lucky. It was dark. Darkness meant having an innumerable amount of shadows at his disposal. And shadows were his element. He quickly ran through the needed hand seals.

"Ninpou: Kage shibari no jutsu." (1) Shikamaru's shadow lengthened and connected with the three shadows of the assailants, who stopped moving as soon as they were caught in the binding technique.

He swiftly knocked them out with a well-placed hit to the neck with the side of his hand. He released his technique and the men fell over.

Shikamaru crouched down to check on the figure on the ground. The person was curled up in a foetal position, protecting its head with its arms. The Nara advanced the body. "Hello?" he asked gently as not to frighten the person further. "It's over. They won't hurt you again."

The body on the ground turned to face him, arms falling from the face, revealing his identity.

Shikamaru's breath caught. His eyes widened. "Naruto?"

The blond boy in front of him pushed himself into a sitting position. His small hands rubbed at his eyes. Blood was oozing from a cut on his forehead. He stood up on shaking legs, not meeting Shikamaru's eyes. His clothes were covered in dust from the dirty ground. His shoulders were bent forward, as if standing straight caused him pain.

"Naruto, what happened?" the brunette demanded to know. He was worried about the blond. He had just recovered from a life-threatening injury.

The boy shook his head. "It was nothing, Shika. Just forget it."

The lazy chunin grabbed Naruto's wrist, as he tried to walk away from him. "Naruto, this is not nothing. Why did they beat you? We should go see the Hokage. These men will be punished."

Naruto's head shot up and his blue eyes focused on his brown ones. "Please, Shika, just leave it alone."

The boy regarded the other boy's tired face. What was that look in his eyes? He couldn't place it. "I can't let this go, Naru. I'm worried about you," he gently encouraged him to confide in him.

The younger boy sighed in resignation. "Look, Shikamaru, you don't really want to get involved. Trust me. This is troublesome." The hint of a sad smile passed his lips.

"Come on, Naruto. Coming to your rescue in the first place was troublesome." Shikamaru was looking down into his blue eyes. "Why didn't you defend yourself? These men are civilians. I know they are no match for you." The blond averted his gaze. "Did you _let_ them beat you up?" Shikamaru asked, bewildered. This was getting more and more troublesome by the minute.

The blond boy pulled his wrist free from his grasp. "You wouldn't understand," he bit out and before Shikamaru had the chance to stop him, Naruto jumped on the wooden fence which enclosed the alley and on the roof behind it. And he was gone.

Bewildered, Shikamaru looked once more in the direction he had disappeared to. He quickly checked on the bullies. Seeing they were still unconscious, he roof-jumped towards the direction of the Hokage tower.

* * *

><p>After reporting to Tsunade about the scene he had stumbled upon, the Hokage formed a quick hand seal. Only seconds later an ANBU with a bird mask appeared, kneeling in front of Tsunade's desk, his head respectfully bowed, awaiting his orders.<p>

She gave him the directions to the alley in which Shikamaru had left the unconscious thugs and told him – or her? Shikamaru wasn't sure, those masked ANBU all looked the same to him – to deliver the men to the Torture and Interrogation division.

The ANBU shunshined away and was replaced by an other person entering through the window. Shikamaru recognized the grey-haired man as Naruto's sensei, Hatake Kakashi. The jounin nodded in greeting and his one uncovered eye rested on the Hokage.

"Kakashi, I need you to check on Naruto, please. Shikamaru," she gestured a hand in his direction, "just saved him. Three men were beating him up and apparently he wasn't even defending himself." She frowned in worry. "He just ran away without an explanation. Make sure he is okay, Kakashi." _Please._

The jounin shunshined away and Shikamaru was left with the Hokage, who apparently had forgotten about him, as she just announced that she needed sake and was mumbling to herself about being too old for this job.

_Troublesome,_ Shikamaru thought, but had no intention of reminding her about him being there. His brain was already processing everything he had witnessed so far. Hopefully he'd learn more.

The Godaime downed her glass of sake. With a hand seal three ANBU appeared.

"Get me Jirayia! Now!" she barked at the kneeling shinobi. "Start looking at the local brothel," she added as an afterthought.

The ANBU disappeared and again Shikamaru was left alone with the Hokage. Shikamaru sweat-dropped as he saw the leader of his village eyeing the now empty sake bottle angrily. He was about to open his mouth to speak, when Tsunade yelled, "Shizune!" and the door behind Shikamaru burst open.

A dark-haired woman in her late twenties rushed past him, the pig in her arms gave a pitiful squeak. "Tsunade-sama," she panted, sounding a little breathless, as she came to stand beside her mentor. The woman spared a confused glance at Shikamaru, probably as surprised about his presence as the boy himself.

"Shizune, more sake!" the Fifth ordered bossily, banging her fist on the desk to underline her words.

"Tsunade-sama-" Shizune began hesitantly, supposedly trying to tell her that she shouldn't drink sake during work.

"NOW!" the blonde Hokage yelled, jumping from her chair and starting to pace behind her desk. Her assistant fled from the office, leaving behind a fuming Tsunade and a forgotten Nara.

Shikamaru was about to speak, when once again he was beaten to it. A tall man with spiky white hair in his fifties jumped in threw the window. What was it with all the elite shinobi entering through the window? His wooden sandals clacked as he landed on the floor.

_This must be Jiraiya,_ Shikamaru deduced. He knew that the Sannin had trained Naruto during the one month preparation time before the finals of the chunin exams. _Interesting, why is he here?_

"Tsunade-hime," he addressed the blonde Hokage, "you better have a good reason for getting me! There was this lovely dark-eyed beauty with huuuuge-" Before the man could finish his description of his latest female company, Tsunade's fist hit him on the head.

Shikamaru sweat-dropped. These people were two of the legendary Sannin? One was an obvious pervert and the other had a drinking problem. _Troublesome._

Jiraiya's former team mate glared at him with her hazel eyes. A vein twitched on her forehead. Jirayia was rubbing his abused head, mumbling about brutal, drunken blondes under his breath.

"Jirayia," Tsunade reprimanded him, "this is not the time for one of your pervy stories!" With a serious voice, she added, "It's about Naruto."

Jirayia immediately let go of the forming lump on his head. He stood a little straighter and Shikamaru saw his shoulders tense. His demeanour changed completely, from the goofy old man to an attentive shinobi, who suddenly exuded an aura of authority.

"What about the gaki?" he asked. His voice not betraying his actual worry.

"Some civilians caught him alone earlier and beat him up" the Hokage sighed.

Jirayia scowled. "Again, huh?" he muttered rather to himself than as an answer. "Those ungrateful bastards are getting cocky," he said a little louder, thoughtful, "probably think they can get away with it, after that little display of that pink-haired Haruno girl." The tall man crossed his muscled arms over his chest, eyes locked with Tsunade's.

"I sent Kakashi to check on him," the Hokage explained, "he'll report back to me later."

Jirayia nodded in agreement. He hoped that Kakashi would know what to do. He himself had never been good with this consoling stuff. Finally his eyes fell on the intently listening Nara.

"Who's the boy, Tsunade-hime?" he wanted to know. Said boy twitched a little under the sudden attention and the two pairs of eyes fell on him.

Tsunade realized she had totally forgotten about the boy, who had rescued the brat. She dismissively waved a hand at him. "Boy," she bellowed, "what are you still doing here?"

The chunin sweat-dropped yet again and raised a questioning eyebrow, expressing his disbelief at her inattentiveness. He knew he would possibly regret it later, but his curiosity outweighed his laziness. He really wanted to know what was going on with Naruto.

"What do you mean 'again'," he addressed the male Sannin, "why has Naruto been attacked before?"

Jirayia squinted his eyes at the brunette. _Pineapple-hair, lazy attitude, quick thinking, _he examined. _Must be the Nara boy. Shikaku's son._

"Why would you want to know, boy?"

Shikamaru didn't have to think about his answer. "Because I was the one who found him. And it's troublesome, but I guess I'm worried about Naruto."

Hearing the word 'troublesome', Jirayia was sure that this certainly was the Nara heir. "Say, why would you worry about him?"

_Geez, the guy's asking a lot of questions, isn't he?_ Shikamaru gave an indifferent shrug, but said, "Why wouldn't I be? I consider him a good friend of mine."

Jirayia grinned at the boy. _Right answer, kiddo._ "In that case, you should ask Naruto that question. I can't tell you the reason."

"You can't because you don't know or because you don't want to?" the genius prompted.

_Yes, definitely a Nara. _"It's not my place to tell."

"Jirayia," Tsunade yelled. "Stop it! And you," she faced the prying Nara, "leave! Now!"

Deciding not to push his luck, the boy quickly left the office. Walking down the corridor, he shook his head when a red-faced Shizune hurried past him, two bottles of sake in her hands; the pig on her heels.

Stepping outside and back into the darkness of the night, his mind raced, putting together all the different pieces of information. Trying to make sense of them, he forced himself to slow down a little.

_Naruto has unmistakeably been beaten up a couple of times already. Maybe it even happens frequently?_ he wondered. _But why would someone beat him up? Is it because of his pranking? _But Shikamaru hadn't seen him perform pranks since they graduated from the academy. Were the villagers holding a grudge against him? He remembered how one of the men had called the boy a 'demon' and demanding him to die. That was a little too harsh for holding a grudge against a prankster, wasn't it?

_Jirayia evidently knew why someone would beat him. And both of them looked pretty worried about Naruto. _And why hadn't he defended himself? This was getting him nowhere. He was running in circles.

_I am missing something..._ He thought back, recalling every information he had on the blond. A memory showed him a picture; Naruto surrounded by an evil red chakra during the fight with Hyuuga Neji and the oppressive feeling of Naruto's killing intent. _What kind of power was that? _He remembered Naruto's quick healing and how he had recovered from a fatal wound within a week. What was he missing? Was the red chakra connected to the beatings? Shikamaru sighed heavily. _What are you hiding, Naruto?_

* * *

><p>The reason for Shikamaru's frustration sat atop the Hokage mountain. After fleeing from the Nara, he had intended to go home, but found himself utterly lost. Home... what was 'home' to him? His shitty little apartment? Naruto couldn't make his feet go there. What was waiting there for him, anyway? Nothing. Or rather no one. Not wanting to be lonely in the walls he lived in, he preferred being lonely on top of the old Hokages' faces. He had always felt a strange connection to the lifeless stone faces and some unknown force had pulled him to his favourite spot this night.<p>

Naruto was hugging his knees to his chest. His chin resting on his kneecaps. His large blue eyes were shadowed by messy blond hair that fell in his face. His whiskered cheeks were pale in the moonlight. No smile was adorning his lips for once. A deep frown was on the usually carefree face.

He shifted a little and suppressed a shiver. The night was getting cold, but he hardly felt it. The cut on his forehead had stopped bleeding and Kyuubi had almost healed it by now. He ran a finger over the tender skin, gaining him a jolt of pain. He could feel scar tissue forming and briefly wondered why the demon was not completely healing it. Luckily the cut was right under his hairline, hidden under his bangs. Still, he would have to descend into the sad sewer landscape of his own mind sooner or later, asking his tenant why he was refusing to properly patch him up.

But now was not the time for it. He could hardly bear his own contradicting thoughts, not to mention the Kyuubi messing with his mind.

His thoughts returned to the previous leaders of Konoha. It was not too long ago since he had sat here and imagined how his own face would be carved into the stone, forever proclaiming him the strongest shinobi of his generation.

_Being Hokage,_ he mused, _protecting Konoha._ The stubborn determination and the warmth that used to follow those words, were missing tonight. Was he really willing to protect a village that hated him? Despised his existence and caused him nothing but pain? He had always dreamed of being acknowledged by everyone. Sure, he still wanted everyone to respect him and especially to stop looking at him with hate-filled eyes. But the concepts of forming bonds with people who would never see past his status as Jinchuriki seemed oddly naïve to him now. Maybe Sasuke's harsh words had knocked some sense into him? Or was he giving up, losing faith in himself?

Doubt was clouding his thinking, he was questioning everything he had ever believed in. _All because of Sasuke... and Sakura._ He briefly took notice that he had dropped the affectionate _-chan_ from his team mate's name. In the future, people would have to earn his affection. He felt that the events of the last week had traumatized him. How could it not?

His stomach grumbled from hunger. He didn't eat since a small breakfast. Although hungry, he found he had no appetite. Not even his delicious ramen sounded as comforting as a week before. Why was that, he wondered. Ramen had been a constant in his life that never failed to put a genuine smile on his face.

What was it he wanted? He couldn't remember. Naruto's convictions had been destroyed, leaving behind a disturbed and deeply confused teenage boy.

* * *

><p>Said confused teenager was found sound asleep by his jounin sensei only moments later. Kakashi gently scooped him up and took the shivering boy home with him. Repeating his actions of three nights ago, he covered him with his blanket and with good intention put a hot-water bag in bed with him.<p>

Kakashi watched his pupil's features relax a little at the comfortable warmth. His breathing came shallow and regularly. Exhaustion was written all over his small frame. Kakashi was sure it was physical as well as mental exhaustion. The boy would sleep for some time.

Acting in contradiction to his perpetual aloof attitude, he leaned down and almost tenderly brushed a lock of untamed blond hair out of Naruto's face. _What are we going to do with you, Naruto,_ he worried.

* * *

><p>Having summoned Pakkun, one of his nin-dogs, to watch over Naruto's sleeping form, Kakashi was back in Tsunade's office. The Godaime was fondling a bottle of sake in her right, an empty glass in her left hand. Jiraiya sat in front of her desk, an empty glass in his hand, too. Both shinobi had bothered expressions on their faces and the mood in the room was rather somber.<p>

At Kakashi's arrival through the window, Tsunade looked up, awaiting his report.

While Kakashi gave said report, Tsunade had Shizune bring a third glass and another bottle of their favourite alcoholic drink. Discussing the situation at hand extensively, the sake was soon gone and the three shinobi were somewhat slurring. But in the end, they had reached a solution they were all satisfied with.

* * *

><p>The next day, Naruto awoke in Kakashi's now familiar bed. A look out the window told him that it was already late in the afternoon. He stretched and shrugged off the last remnants of sleep. No pain from the beating was left, the Kyuubi had healed him. The constant dull aching in his chest remained, though. As it always did. He had stopped wondering about it a long time ago and had accepted that it would probably stay forever. Still, it unsettled him at the times whenever the pain worsened.<p>

He shook of the blanket and saw the hot-water bag. The blond paused at the sight, but couldn't give the gesture further thought, because Kakashi entered the bedroom.

Naruto gaped at him, not even trying to hide his astonishment.

The man in front of the bed undoubtedly was his sensei, but still it felt like he had never seen him before. His gravity-defying grey hair fell into his face, as he wasn't wearing his forehead protector. His Sharingan eye was closed and hidden in the shadows of his hair. There was a long vertical scar over the eye, evidence of the injury that caused him to lose it. His other dark eye now carved up into his favourite eye-smile, but for the first time, Naruto was able to see the smile that went along with it on his lips. Kakashi wasn't wearing his mask.

The jounin rubbed his neck sheepishly. He chuckled. "Quite the unfamiliar sight, ne, Naruto?"

The boy blushed faintly, as he noticed himself staring. His sensei certainly was a handsome man. How many times had Team Seven made up the most ridiculous ideas about his reason for wearing the mask? Uncountable times. And now the man was deliberately showing him his face? Revealing one of the mysteries surrounding the famous Copy Ninja to him? He had no doubt that not even a hand full of people in the village had ever seen him without the mask. Unmistakeably this was a huge gesture of saying 'I trust you'.

Kakashi came over to the prying boy and gently pushed a cup of tea in his hands. Naruto took it from him automatically, still not taking his eyes off the foreign sight. His sensei sat down on the bed, sipping his own tea. "How are you feeling, Naruto?"

His blue eyes chose to look on the cup of tea, suddenly seeming really interested in it. _How am I feeling?_ He had no idea how to answer that question. So he said nothing.

The silence was answer enough for Kakashi. He leaned over and affectionately tousled his spiky hair with his large hand. He sighed inwardly as he saw the alarmed look on his pale face. But it was gone a second later and he convinced himself, he had just imagined it.

"Jirayia is here to see you, Naruto," Kakashi announced and waited for a reaction.

The boy glanced at him. Naruto hadn't seen the pervert since they had gone on the mission to find Tsunade. Honestly he had assumed he had left Konoha again. What could he want? He looked at his sensei suspiciously. Kakashi still noticed how his face lit up with the tiniest amount of hope and maybe even excitement at seeing his other sensei.

Kakashi got up and left the room and in his stead, the tall Sannin entered.

The white-haired man strolled over to the bed and ruffled Naruto's hair, much like Kakashi had done before. _Why do people always feel the need to do that? It's probably the reason my hair is always this messy_, the boy inwardly complained and swatted Jirayia's hand away impatiently.

"Hey brat, long time no see," he said cheerfully which earned him a scowl from Naruto.

"Ero-sennin," the boy almost whined and tried to tame his hair unsuccessfully with his one free hand as the other was still holding the cup. "What do you want?"

Jirayia chuckled at his childish display, but huffed at the nickname. He would let it go for now.

"Ne, Naruto, not happy to see your beloved sensei?" he winked. The boy glared at him. He sat down in the spot where Kakashi had sat before and faced his pupil. "I've come to tell you that I will leave Konoha tomorrow."

At his words all energy seemed to leave the genin. When before Jiraiya had seen the tiniest sign of hope shimmer in Naruto's blue eyes, they were now blank.

Naruto looked away from him and his shoulders slumped. _So he's going to leave me, too. How naïve to think he would stay and train me. He has better things to do than to look after the demon brat. He's a Sannin after all._

"For how long?" Naruto asked in a neutral tone, not looking at the Sannin, but thoroughly inspecting the last sip of tea in his cup.

"For a couple of years probably," Jirayia answered cheerfully. He had taken in the change in the boy's demeanour and couldn't help but be a little touched at his – not so obvious – show of affection towards him. Besides that, he was also worried and saw what Kakashi had meant last night when he said that the boy was not the same after Sasuke's defection and Sakura's hateful words. He hadn't expected Naruto to be this disappointed with his leaving, though.

"Oh," was all the blond said.

Jirayia hated the air of depression that hung over the normally hyper-active blond. He grabbed his chin with his calloused fingers and forced the boy to look up at him. Reluctantly, sad blue eyes met his gaze.

"I thought you'd be a little more enthusiastic about seeing the world, brat," he grinned at him. Blue eyes widened questioningly. "It's not everyday that the great toad sage Jiraiya allows someone to travel with him," he said boastfully.

The boy blinked. Was he really this dense or had Sasuke crushed his belief in a manner that he wasn't believing him?

"Ero-sennin?" the blond finally spoke, still gazing at him open-mouthed.

"I decided to take you on as my apprentice, Naruto," he declared generously. "What do you think?"

Jirayia had expected a lot of things; like Naruto crying out in glee or saying something about how it probably was because he was a really awesome ninja. But he had not expected... well, nothing.

The boy shrunk back into himself and he let go of his chin. When he spoke his voice was hardly above a whisper. "Why?" he swallowed.

"What do you mean, why?" an irritated Jirayia asked.

"Why would you want someone like me as your apprentice. There are better choices, genin who are more suited, stronger than me."

Jirayia's breath caught. The Uchiha had positively shattered the boy's confidence. And Kami knew Naruto had had more than enough of that. Right now Jirayia hated the boy for what he had done to the gaki. Uzumaki Naruto was a broken boy. He determinedly vowed to himself that he would return the smile to his eyes.

"Uzumaki Naruto," the toad sage spoke softly, "there is no one else I deem worthy of becoming my student." Naruto heard his serious tone and hopeful eyes looked up at the toad sage. "I have witnessed that you are a very capable shinobi. And the Naruto I know would jump at this opportunity."

He smiled sincerely at the boy, who looked so much like his last student. "Or are you a coward, Uzumaki Naruto?" he provoked him, knowing the boy wouldn't let anyone call him a coward. If Naruto was one thing, he was brave. And sometimes maybe recklessly so.

Naruto's mind was once again a confused mess. Too many things kept happening, too many contradicting emotions were flooding his brain. But he saw the sincerity in Jiraiya's eyes and the little he knew about the Sannin, he was sure that he wouldn't break his word.

_To train under him? For several years? _This man had trained the Fourth Hokage. But a lot had happened and yesterday Naruto had realized that he wasn't sure if his dream to become Hokage was what he really wanted. But going with him would mean leaving Konoha.

Naruto asked himself whether he was ready for that. He almost snorted in disbelief at his own stupidity. Of course he was ready. What was actually keeping him here? Sasuke was gone, Sakura hated him, as did the villagers. _Nothing_ was keeping him.

His features lit up at his conclusion and a genuine smile split his face. His eyes sparkled from gratitude and before Jirayia knew what was happening, he found himself on his back, with a blond gaki fiercely hugging him with his small arms.

"Ne, shrimp, that's the reaction I was looking for," the Sannin chuckled amused, while patting the boy's back reassuringly.

* * *

><p>The two left Konoha early in the next morning. Tsunade and Kakashi had seen them off at the gates. Kakashi had his mask back on. Naruto guessed he only took it off in the shelter of his own apartment.<p>

To Naruto's irritation and the adult's amusement, the jounin had again ruffled his hair. With a pat on the shoulder, he told him to take care and winked at him while musing aloud that he would be a handsome, strong young man, when he returned. Tsunade had hugged him tightly and told him to not let Jirayia's pervy ideas corrupt his innocent mind.

He waved at them, though the action was lacking the typical enthusiasm and no smile graced his lips. Naruto had decided to not say good-bye to the other genin. He felt only slightly guilty about it. The Hokage would tell them later that he had left. He wasn't ready to face them yet, especially not Sakura and he was also sure that Shikamaru would pester him about the beating.

Too much was on his mind. Jirayia had revealed the other reason for their training trip. Akatsuki. The organization to which Uchiha Itachi belonged. He and his fish-faced partner had cornered Naruto once already. The Sannin had explained to him that they were after the Bijuu sealed inside of him. On this trip Jirayia would train him to the best of his ability and ensure that he was strong enough to hold his own against the members of Akatsuki.

Leaving Konoha behind, Naruto felt no regret. He wasn't sad to leave behind a village in which no one wanted him. In fact, he was looking forward to meeting people who were unbiased and he sincerely hoped that people would look at him with kind eyes and welcome him.

His mood had improved and with new hope he walked towards the setting sun.

* * *

><p>1) <em>Ninpou: Kage shibari no jutsu.<em> It's a Nara family jutsu. Shadow binding technique. The person caught in the jutsu can't move, but won't imitate the user's moves.


	4. Chapter 4

**The author says: **Thanks my two reviewers **KateKyuu** and **Panda-ryuu-chan**! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!

Please keep telling me, how you like it! Enjoy the chapter!

**I don't own Naruto!**

* * *

><p><strong>'He had no idea'<strong>

**Chapter 4**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Rain pours down over a city<br>Night has fallen like a stone  
>Are you gone or are you with me?<br>In my heart I'll never know  
>If I close my eyes I'll see you<br>Hear your footsteps in the rain  
>In my dream I'll never find you<br>but I'll hear you call my name_**

_**- **_**'Way back home' by The Bag Raiders**

* * *

><p><strong>Four months after Naruto and Jiraiya left Konoha:<strong>

A figure was jumping through the trees. Panting, the occasional 'thud' when feet hit a branch, leaves rustling, a dark blur. Naruto knew he was being followed. He stopped in a small clearing. The kunai in his right hand glistened in the sunlight.

He crouched low, feet in a wide stance, perfectly balanced, ready to react to whatever was coming at him. He carefully scanned the surrounding trees with his blue eyes. _Where is he?_ His lungs were burning from the chase and the fighting before. He jumped at a noise coming from the brush from behind him; he whirled around, arms coming up defensively. But there was nothing.

Naruto inhaled deeply, partly to calm himself, but mainly to take in the scents around him. His sense of smell had always been sensitive, but in the four months he had been training with Jiraiya, he had learned to use it to his advantage. He didn't smell anything out of place now, though, and kept scanning the tree lines.

He forced his racing heart to calm down. The adrenaline surged through his body, keeping him alerted. The shadows in the trees were too dark to make out anything. _You can't always rely on your eyes, Naruto. Use what you have,_ he heard Jiraiya's voice inside his head, remembering one of his lessons.

He closed his eyes. He concentrated on his hearing. He pushed aside the sound of his own heartbeat and breathing. He heard how the wind moved the leaves to his right. There were birds in a tree to his left. _How many?_ Three. He listened more carefully. There was a rushing sound a little farther away, coming from behind him. _What is it? _Water. _A river?_ No, splashing. _A waterfall? _Yes. A creaking from in front of him. _A twig snapping._ _What made the twig snap? _An animal? _No, too heavy. _A large animal? _Like a bear?_ But no, he would have smelled that. A loud rustling from the same direction. Wings flapping frantically. _A bird._ _Disturbed by another's presence? _Naruto hold his breath, trying to catch the faintest of sounds. A swish, the sound of cloth moving against cloth. Breathing. _There._

His eyes snapped open. With newly acquired speed, he flung a swarm of shuriken into the tree line in front of him. The following thuds indicated that they hit only the trunk of a tree. He jumped backwards, readying another set of shuriken. Inhaling, Naruto caught his scent now. He was close.

A single shuriken came flying at him with lightning speed. Before he could wonder why there was only one shuriken aimed at him, he heard a deep voice call out a jutsu. "_Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." (1)_

The single shuriken multiplied by several dozen. Naruto gulped and threw himself on his back, flattening himself to the ground. The shuriken whizzed past above him, hitting the grass behind his head. He quickly jumped back to his feet, scanning the clearing again.

The scent of his attacker warned him as a fist came flying at him from behind, aiming for his head. He whirled around, ducking under a muscled arm. The boy was smaller than his attacker, making it easy for him to evade the swinging fists, but still he was at a disadvantage, because his arms were a lot shorter and he had to get in really close to be able to actually hit the attacker. Apparently, he had gotten too close, as a large fist connected with his belly. He gasped as the power of the punch forced the air out of his lungs. He hit the ground hard, sliding over the grass and finally lying still several feet away.

Naruto groaned from the pain, but resolutely tried to stand up again. Cramps were running through his abdomen and he would have fallen back to the ground if not for the strong hand that supported him. His attacker.

The blond glared up at the tall man, who was grabbing his arm and gently forcing him to a sitting position on the grass. "Ne, Ero-sennin, you don't have to hit me so hard!" Naruto whined. The white-haired Sannin chuckled at his godson and sat down beside him.

"Your enemies won't hold back, brat. It won't help you, if I go easy on you," he lectured. He got out a sealing scroll and summoned Naruto's bag, their bedrolls and their cooking utensils.

Naruto curled up and quietly rubbed his belly. Apparently, Jiraiya had decided to stay in the small clearing for the night. This would be the sixth night in a row they spent in the forest. But Naruto didn't mind. He was still wary whenever they were in a new town. Although people treated him like any other person, not knowing about his status as Jinchuuriki, he had become cautious and suspicious around them.

As Jiraiya prepared a simple meal for them, he regarded his apprentice from the corner of his eyes. The blond was still rubbing his hurting belly, his eyes were closed and he heard him mutter something about violent perverts. Maybe he did go a little hard on him? But no, he needed to train him for that he had a chance to stand his own against the members of Akatsuki. The Sannin sighed and heated the water in their kettle with a well-aimed fire jutsu.

They had been travelling for four months now. And already the changes in Naruto were visible. Some more, some less. While the boy had chattered almost non-stop during the month he had trained him for the chuunin exams, he was now quiet and often Jiraiya caught him with a very uncharacteristic thoughtful look on his face. When Naruto now spoke, his voice was no longer loud and annoying. He now seemed to actually think before he spoke and sometimes Jiraiya cringed, when he heard the almost subdued tone in which the boy talked. But what shocked – and pained him – the most was that not once in the four months had he seen the trademark foxy grin on his lips. Sure, he smiled, but it seldom reached his eyes. The occasions on which Naruto had given him a genuine smile could be counted on three fingers.

The first time had been when Jiraiya had given Naruto his new outfit. One evening after training he had mouthed that he no longer felt comfortable in his bulky orange jumpsuit. When Jiraiya had asked him why, Naruto had explained to him that he used to wear the colourful clothes in order for other people to notice him.

People either gave him hateful glares or they ignored him completely, overlooking him. But as no one else was wearing orange, they would know immediately that it was Naruto they saw and thus he kind of forced his presence on them. He now saw how stupid he had been; no wonder how everyone thought of him as an annoyance; but at least someone did think of him this way.

But this was no longer the way he wanted to think about himself. Especially when they were travelling, he didn't want to draw attention to himself. His blond hair was already standing out enough, he had explained. From now on, he wanted people to _want _to notice him and not because his choice of clothing screamed for desperate need of attention.

Jiraiya had been surprised at how grown-up and considerate his words had sounded. The next day, he had presented a new set of clothing to the boy. It was nothing special; dark shinobi pants, a dark green longsleeve and new shinobi sandals. He had chosen the darker colours on purpose, as Naruto had told him how he no longer wanted to stand out. Jiraiya had given the clothes to him as a gift, telling the boy they were some kind of 'welcome gift to his new apprentice', as Naruto only hesitantly accepted them. He was not used to people giving him presents. The small lie had been rewarded when Naruto had given him a small but genuine smile in return.

The Sannin sighed and looked back at the boy he had taken under his wing. He had sloppily unrolled his bedroll and was currently lying on his side, facing the small fire he had started. His knees where pulled against his abdomen, his arms hugging his knees. Was he still in pain from his punch? Normally Naruto could take more than a simple punch. Maybe he _was_ going too hard on him? He sighed once more, stirring the stew he had prepared. Jiraiya was about to call out to his student, when Naruto's regular, even breathing made him realize that the boy had fallen asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Two months later:<strong>

Jiraiya was overseeing a group of two hundred Narutos going through Kenjutsu katas. (2) He was getting better each day and he was proud of Naruto's steady improvement. With the help of Naruto's Kage bunshin technique, his Taijutsu was now flowing and there was a grace in his movements he had lacked before. A week ago, he had started to train him in Kenjutsu. He was no master with the katana, but Naruto had expressed his wish to learn it and thus Jiraiya did his best to teach to him at least what he knew, until he found him a proper Kenjutsu-master.

The Sannin himself was incapacitated at the moment. One month ago, Naruto had received a rather deep cut on his back during a spar. Kyuubi had healed it within half a day, but the cut had left a long scar on the blond's back between his shoulder blades. Jiraiya had asked Naruto why the fox demon wasn't healing him properly and the boy had told him that Kyuubi had failed healing his scars since Sasuke had put the chidori through his chest. And indeed there was an ugly, kind of star-shaped scar over his heart and the counterpart on his back under his left scapula.

After contemplating Kyuubi's behaviour, Jiraiya had tried to loosen the _Hakke no Fuin Shiki_ (3). Unfortunately his idea had backfired, as Naruto had lost control of the demon's chakra during training, ending in him forming four tails of the demon's evil chakra. Jirayia had been severely wounded and had been closer to death than ever before. Naruto did not remember what exactly happened, but he knew that he had somehow caused the horrible injury on Jiraiya's chest.

The injury was now over four weeks old, but due to the Kyuubi's chakra, it wasn't healing as expected. The Sannin was out of danger, but light spars were all he could manage at this point. That was why he was only supervising Naruto's training right now, rather than participating.

He threw a kunai at one of the clones, who had made a mistake in the kata. It dissolved and the original Naruto stopped for a second, absorbing the new information and he quickly corrected his movements.

Three hours later, master and student were sitting around a fire, having grilled fish for lunch. The boy was sweaty and sore, still he was full of energy. Jiraiya was regarding him fondly, as he was rapidly devouring the meal. Naruto swallowed and addressed his sensei.

"Ne, Jiraiya," he started and the addressed man immediately knew something serious was up, as Naruto was using his actual name instead of his favourite nickname for him. "I thought about something."

Jiraiya nibbled on his fish, looking at his student expectantly.

"I want you to teach me Fuinjutsu."

"Ah, and why the sudden interest?" his sensei inquired.

"Actually, it's not so sudden. I've been thinking about sealing for some time now," the blond explained, swallowed and went on, "Since Orochimaru sealed the Nine-Tail's chakra in the Forest of Death during the Chuunin exams with the Five Element Seal. And you always use the Chakra-suppression Seal on me, when I lose control of Kyuubi's chakra. I think it should be useful to know how to do and undo these jutsus. And they might come in handy, if I ever need to seal the chakra of an opponent."

Jiraiya was a little surprised at the stream of words. Obviously his student had considered this for some time. The sincere tone in which he had explained his reasoning made him proud. Half a year ago, no one would have expected something like this coming from the hyperactive blond.

"I see you really thought about it. Still, I have to warn you. Fuinjutsu is nothing like Taijutsu or Ninjutsu," the Sannin made clear. "It needs a lot of time studying and most shinobi consider it boring; that's probably the reason why it has become somehow rare. However, it has proven quite useful to me over the years," he smiled, thinking back. "If you are willing to dedicate your time to it, I'd very much like to instruct you in the arts of sealing. Considering that you are greatly affected by the results of a sealing technique, I think you should indeed learn it."

The boy had listened to his answer and was happy that his sensei had approved of his idea. It did sound like a lot of work, though. And considering how poor his handwriting and even his reading was, Naruto was a little anxious whether he would ever be able to correctly draw seals. However, he had decided on learning Fuinjutsu, and Kami knew Uzumaki Naruto never went back on his word.

* * *

><p>In Otogakure, Sasuke was panting. He was sweating profusely, hurting pretty much everywhere and bleeding from several cuts. Orochimaru was a strict sensei. He dedicated five hours every day to training with the young Uchiha. After six months in Orochimaru's hideout, the boy's strength had doubled and his speed increased immensely. Sasuke felt himself getting stronger by the day.<p>

For him, this was proof that leaving Konoha was the right decision. He was certain, that none of his former team mates or the rest of the Rookie Nine was at his level by now. He had a sensei, who paid him attention and taught him everything he knew. _Because he wants your body,_ a treacherous voice spoke in the back of Sasuke's head. _He only trains you to take over your body and you will __die__._

Sasuke shook his head, trying to get rid of the voice of doubt. The seconds of confusion almost cost him his right arm as Orochimaru's katana came flying at his right. He threw himself to the left and instead of getting his arm severed, he received a deep cut on his deltoid. Sasuke clasped his left hand over the wound. It was bleeding stronger than any of the other cuts.

The snake Sannin sheathed his katana. His slitted eyes coldly regarded the Uchiha. Sasuke stared back, not wanting to back down under the intense gaze. He would never admit it to himself, but in secret, Orochimaru's eyes unnerved him. They always held a look of insanity and – yes, _desire_, in them. _Desire for your body_, the unwanted voice spoke up again.

Sasuke averted his eyes. He always lost these staring contests. But he told himself that one day, when he was strong enough, he would no longer back down from the Sannin. However, he still needed the Sannin's training and hence had to swallow his famous Uchiha-pride for the time being.

"Let Kabuto patch you up and then rest. You will spar with Kabuto in the afternoon." The Sannin left the training grounds and Sasuke did as he was told.

* * *

><p>"<em>Naruto-baka! Move, I want to sit next to Sasuke-kun!" a pink-haired twelve-year old Sakura demanded with her hands on her hips. She brutally shoved the smaller blond boy aside and sat down next to her beloved Uchiha.<em>

_Sasuke sighed heavily. This girl was seriously getting on his nerves. Naruto and him usually sat next to each other. Although that meant he had to endure his endless happy blabbering, Sasuke seldom complained about it, because Naruto also kept his fan girls at bay. They hated the blond with a ferocity that sometimes scared even him. He could only wonder how Naruto put up with their angry glares._

_Said blond's chit-chat had abruptly stopped due to Sakura's shoving. He was rubbing his shoulder, frowning at the pinkette, who of course ignored him. Instead she was staring longingly at the raven, furiously batting her eyelids at him._

_Determined to finish the conversation with Sasuke, Naruto jumped onto the desk and sat down in front of Sasuke. Silently amused by Naruto's antics, the raven looked up at his rival and tried to look annoyed. Never would he admit to anyone that he actually enjoyed the boy's stories about how he had found a small bird the other day or how he had had ramen for breakfast today, because his milk had gone bad._

_He smirked up at him and being Naruto, the blond took it as encouragement to go on. By now he was using his hands to show Sasuke how large exactly the bowl of ramen had been this morning. Sasuke's smirk widened as he thought about how enthusiastic Naruto could be about something as simple as a bowl of ramen. He always tried to persuade him to try his favourite food, but until now Sasuke had never agreed._

_Naruto was just about to tell him in detail about the number of noodles in his ramen, when it happened – someone pushed the crouching boy, and Naruto fell forwards –_

– _their lips met._

_Shocked about the sudden contact, both boys stared into the other's eyes, not daring to blink._

_Somewhere Sasuke heard a very shrill shriek, probably Sakura, but all he really took in was the sensation of the soft lips on his own. They were so warm and seemed to fit onto his own lips __perfectly._

_Naruto's blue eyes finally blinked, seemingly having gotten over the initial shock. He quickly pulled away, but kept staring at the raven._

_Unconsciously, the blond boy licked his lips and Sasuke followed the movement of the pinkn tongue with his onyx eyes._

"_Eeew, Sasuke, you taste like tomatoes!" the blond complained loudly, but Sasuke was probably the only one in the classroom, who heard the laughter in his words. Naruto flashed him his typical foxy grin and licked his lips again, not trying to get rid of the taste at all._

_Sasuke's tongue imitated Naruto's, licking over his own lips, before he was able to stop himself. He made a face. _Ramen. _He savoured the salty taste and smirked up at his rival. Maybe he should try this ramen some day._

_Coming from Naruto's lips, he definitely liked the taste._

* * *

><p>Sasuke woke up from his rest to a growling stomach. He was hungry. Judging from the time on his alarm clock, it was time for lunch anyway. He made his way to the kitchen, where one of Orochimaru's servants would prepare a meal for him.<p>

Arriving in the kitchen, he was alone, though. Don't wanting to cook, he opened one of the cupboards, in search of a quick snack. To his displeasure, he didn't find any tomatoes.

Instead, he stumbled upon a pack of instant ramen cups. He looked at them quizzically, while his stomach gave a loud growl.

The raven shrugged and took one of the cups; he heated the water and poured it over the instant noodles.

Sasuke made a face, as he caught the scent of the unhealthy food. His stomach growled again.

Wondering where his sudden desire for ramen came from, he hesitantly gave it a try. The salty taste filled his mouth. To Sasuke's surprise, he realized that he liked it very much and enthusiastically dug in.

Sasuke had no idea that the salty taste reminded him of the boy, who had unwillingly stolen his first kiss over two years ago. However, Orochimaru's servants found themselves ordering large quantities of instant ramen cups from this day on.

* * *

><p><strong>Six months earlier: One week after Jiraiya and Naruto left Konoha<strong>

Shikamaru was very suspicious. He hadn't seen Naruto since the incident in the alley, where he had found him getting beaten up. He had been looking for him everywhere for a week now, but there was absolutely no sign of the hyperactive blond. This alone struck him as unusual, but he had also noticed how some of the shop owners talked about it being so nicely quiet for once.

By now the genius was certain that Naruto had either left Konoha or that he was dead. He hoped for the latter to be wrong, but still he needed some conformation and that was exactly what he was about to get. He was on his way to the Hokage tower, when an ANBU appeared in front of him, telling him that the Hokage wanted to see him.

Arriving in Tsunade's office, he saw that he was not the only one, who had been summoned. In fact, he counted all of the Rookie Nine plus Team Gai... minus of course Sasuke and also Naruto and to his surprise, Sakura was also missing. He concluded that the girl must be running late, but was proven wrong, when Tsunade ordered the door to be closed and settled behind her large desk, regarding the young shinobi.

"You're all probably wondering why you are here-" she began, when she was cut off by Shikamaru.

"It's about Naruto, isn't it?" he said in his lazy drawl. Tsunade's eye twitched. _That Nara brat again. _"About why no one has seen him for over a week."

"Yes, this is indeed about Naruto. But before I explain this to you, I need you to know that due to certain circumstances, he couldn't tell you himself." She paused and sternly looked at the gathered genin. "However, he asked me to tell you in his stead, for he wanted you all to know that he left Konoha."

Kiba was the first to react. "He what – ?" he exclaimed, obvious shock swinging in his voice.

"Naruto left with Jiraiya on a training trip. Jiraiya took him on as a student and Naruto gladly accepted," Tsunade clarified.

The genin gaped at her. _Jiraiya_ – one of the Three legendary _Sannin_ – had chosen _Naruto_ as his apprentice?

_What does he see in the idiot? _Ino wondered, without meaning to be mean. Kiba pouted, obviously a little jealous of Naruto for this opportunity. Lee was yelling something about how Naruto's youthfulness had always shone brightly.

Neji's face didn't betray any emotion, but inwardly he was happy for the younger boy. He knew that Naruto was not to be underestimated. He had beaten him fairly in the finals of the Chunin Exams and talked some sense into him. He held the boy in high regards and hoped that he would be fine.

Shikamaru found his suspicions confirmed. He wanted to ask Tsunade whether Naruto's sudden departure had anything to do with what had happened, but the Hokage shot him a look, ordering him to remain silent about the incident.

The genin left the Hokage's office and Tsunade was glad to be alone. However, as she was about to take out her beloved bottle of sake, the clearing of a throat made her look up again. It seemed that not all of the genin had left yet.

Still standing in front of her desk were Nara Shikamaru – _persistent brat –_ Hyuuga Neji and Inuzuka Kiba. _Huh? What do they want?_

"I don't seem to get rid of you, Nara," Tsunade barked and impatiently gestured at him. "Why are you three still here?"

She had expected Shikamaru to speak, instead she heard the Inuzuka kid answer. "Why did Naruto leave without saying good-bye?"

Tsunade inwardly smiled at his accusing tone. Who would have thought that he cared about her blond gaki. "Jiraiya needed to leave quickly. There was no time to say good-bye."

Shikamaru squinted his eyes at her suspiciously. He had not bought her lie. _The brat is too bright for his own good._ She couldn't tell if Neji believed her, but Kiba was seemingly satisfied with her answer.

"When will Naruto be back?" the Hyuuga heir asked in his calm, deep voice.

Tsunade sighed. "In about three years." This was too long even for her liking. She already missed the loud blond boy, but she knew that Naruto needed time to mend and get stronger.

Kiba gaped at her. "Three years? Damn, he will be super strong when he returns!" Tsunade laughed at his wide eyes. "Akamaru!" Kiba yelled at his dog, "we go training! Now! The idiot won't beat us again!" Determined, he left the office with a yelping Akamaru on his heels.

Neji smiled silently and bowed to the Hokage, excusing himself. Although Shikamaru knew he was still missing something here, he left as well.

Tsunade shook her head, unbelieving. Did Naruto know how much his former class mates cared about him? Especially those three. They had stayed behind to ask about him. The others hadn't even thought about asking when Naruto would return. She smiled and made sure to remember the three boys.

* * *

><p>(1) <em>Shuriken Kage Bunshin no jutsu: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique. The user multiplies a single shuriken; the created shuriken are solid, no illusions<em>

(2) _I've always thought it strange that Jiraiya didn't use Naruto's Shadow Clones to help him with the training. I think it's quite convenient_

_(3) Eight Trigrams Sealing Technique: The seal that the Fourth Hokage used to seal the Kyuubi inside of Naruto._

* * *

><p><strong>Concerning Naruto's development: I'm certainly going to make him learn more ninjutsu. Did you watch the newest filler episodes of the Anime? They almost make me cry! I can't believe it! All Naruto ever uses is his Shadow Clone Technique and the Rasengan. Honestly? After this incredible fight against Pain, Naruto is back to two jutsus? I know those are only filler episodes, but still... it kinda pains me to see him this weak...<strong>

**Thanks for reading,**

**xXHaneliXx**


	5. Chapter 5

**The author says: **Chapter 5 for you! Thanks to **KariNeko**, **dragonfire04** and **SpyYoung** for reviewing! And all the other readers, too, of course! I hope you like this chapter!

Enjoy chapter 5! And pay attention to the time specifications in the headlines! (**bold**) Or you might get confused.

**I do not own Naruto!**

* * *

><p><strong>'He had no idea'<strong>

**Chapter 5**

* * *

><p><em><strong>I'm walking away, From everything I had.<br>I need a room with new colours.  
>There was a time,<br>When I didn't mind living the life of others. **_

_**Are you loving pain, loving the pain?  
>And with everyday, everyday<br>I try to move on.  
>Whatever it was,<br>Whatever it was,  
>There's nothing now.<br>You changed.  
>New Age. <strong>_

_**- **_**'New Age' by Marlon Roudette**

* * *

><p><strong>Three weeks after Sasuke left Konoha:<strong>

Uchiha Itachi was not amused. In fact, he was furious. His little brother had betrayed Konoha and joined the village's biggest enemy. And it was all Itachi's fault.

He had not seen this coming. He had miscalculated. All he had ever wanted, was to keep his beloved otouto safe. He had made a terrible mistake. He saw this clearly now. It had been wrong to try to force Sasuke to take the path of an avenger.

_Hatred, _he thought, _how could I ever believe hatred to be the key to power?_ Now Sasuke would give his body to Orochimaru. Unwillingly, Itachi had played into the hands of the snake Sannin. He remembered too clearly, how the man had tried to attack him and take his eyes when he had first joined the Akatsuki. But luckily, he had been no match for Itachi's Mangekyou sharingan.

He somehow needed to find a way to safe Sasuke. He had failed once, but he wouldn't fail another time. He had to correct his mistake and rescue Sasuke from becoming Orochimaru's next vessel.

However, his plans were easier said than done. Konoha had already failed in retrieving his brother. And he had no idea where Sasuke and Orochimaru were. The Sannin had hide-outs all over the Elemental Nations. Finding him would prove difficult. And what would Itachi do, when he finally found Sasuke?

He needed a plan, and soon. He had three years to find his otouto. He just hoped, he wouldn't be too late.

* * *

><p><strong>Two years and one month after Naruto and Jiraiya left Konoha:<strong>

Naruto was sitting atop a hill, overlooking the small town under him, where he and his sensei had spent the last few nights. He was currently waiting for Jiraiya to return from his 'research' – yes, he was still doing that.

Naruto was almost sixteen years old now and he had changed in many ways – mentally, as well as physically. His spiky blond hair had grown a little, but was still as messy. The last baby-fat had dissolved, showing his strong features. The whisker marks were visible as three thin, dark lines on each cheek against his tanned skin.

His clothing had changed since Jiraiya had given him the first new outfit. Due to their intense training, the poor clothes had suffered and Jiraiya had found himself buying new sets of trousers and shirts for the boy almost every three weeks. As he was fed up with spending so much money on clothes – he rather spent it on women – he had chosen a pair of sturdy shinobi pants for Naruto. They were black and went down to his ankles. The shuriken holster was still wrapped around his right thigh and the black shinobi sandals had only changed in size. His dark T-shirt showed his muscled arms; the hard training was finally showing. His hands were protected by fingerless, black gloves.

Naruto was not wearing his forehead protector and hadn't been doing so since he had left Konoha. Jiraiya had looked at him, a bit disappointed, but had said nothing about the boy's choice. Naruto was just not sure whether he wanted to be known as a Konoha shinobi right now. After all that had happened, the boy was confused about where he belonged. The treatment of the villagers combined with Sasuke's and Sakura's betrayal had left him utterly aimless. He just didn't know what to do, whom to trust and what to fight for. As long as he had these doubts, he wouldn't wear the headband with the Leaf insignia.

His ocean blue eyes followed a cloud in the darkening evening sky. How he wished he could be free as this cloud, following the wind, escaping beyond the horizon. He sighed. Shikamaru was right, there certainly was a peaceful aspect to cloud-watching.

Jiraiya finally came back from his research and joined him atop the hill. He quietly handed Naruto a green popsicle and sat down on the grass beside him. Naruto took it from his sensei and smiled gratefully. They sat in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Jiraiya," Naruto eventually spoke up, "can I ask you something?"

The Sannin turned towards his student and smiled encouragingly. "You know you can ask me anything, Naruto."

The boy shyly averted his eyes. "It's something quite personal, though."

"Just ask away, brat," he offered, silently wondering where this was going.

"You know," Naruto began quietly, "I was wondering... How was it when you were a genin? In a team with obaa-chan and Orochimaru, I mean."

Jiraiya paused at this for a second. He had not expected this.

He thought about his answer for some moments and Naruto was about to apologize for being too nosy, when he began to talk. "The Sandaime was a strict but caring sensei. It wasn't always easy with the three of us. Team Hiruzen was formed, when we all were only six years old. We were children then," he sighed. _So long ago._

"I was a very loud and clumsy kid," Jiraiya confessed and then laughed, "much like you, gaki."

He winked at his student. Facing the horizon again, he went on. "You remember the bell test?" he asked, but didn't wait for an actual answer. "We failed miserably and I was the one who was tied to the training stump." The man chuckled, revelling in his memories.

He talked and talked and Naruto listened curiously, until Jiraiya's voice became more serious. "Orochimaru and I were always competing with each other. You could say, our relationship was a lot like the one between you and the Uchiha." He quickly went on, as he saw Naruto wince beside him.

"We were always fighting and Sarutobi-sensei often had to stop us from truly harming each other. Still, he was my best friend."

Naruto watched his sensei. Their stories were so much alike, it was almost ironic. Orochimaru had betrayed Jiraiya, had abused his trust and finally fled from Konoha. It was like history repeating itself. The boy could tell that the loss of his best friend was still hurting the otherwise tough Toad Sage, even after all these years. The man's eyes were unfocused and staring inwards, probably remembering the events that had led to the exposure of Orochimaru's illegal experiments.

Jiraiya's voice became quiet and thoughtful. "You know, I promised myself I'd bring him back. I couldn't accept what he did." He stopped, swallowing against the lump in his throat. "I never succeeded, though. And seeing him two years ago, I realized that the Orochimaru I knew, no longer exists. It is hard to accept, but sometimes you just have to let go. People change."

Naruto frowned. Involuntarily, he had to think of Sasuke. His former best friend. How much had he changed since he had joined Orochimaru? Would Naruto even recognize him when he saw him again – or rather _if_ he saw him again?

Naruto remembered the promise he made to Sakura, about bringing him back. The pinkette had released him of it, though. He was no longer bound to bring Sasuke back. Did _he_ want to bring him back? _People change_, Jiraiya had said. Naruto knew he had changed a lot since that fateful battle in the Valley of the End. Had he changed enough to let Sasuke go? Or had he changed enough to _not_ let him go? What was it he wanted to do? He was so confused. The only thing he knew, was that he had no obligation towards Sakura and whatever he would do about Sasuke, he would do it for himself and not for his ex-team mate.

_Ex-team mate,_ the boy cringed. What was awaiting him back in Konoha? Jiraiya had planned to return to Konoha within the next two months. They had been gone almost two and a half years now and Jiraiya had said it would be a good time for them to return. Akatsuki would soon make their first move and whenever that happened, he wanted to be in Konoha rather than in foreign territory. Was Naruto ready to go back yet? He didn't know.

Jiraiya was talking again, but Naruto was only listening again, because he had caught the name 'Tsunade'.

"...you know about her violent streak. She always hit me." The white-haired man chuckled softly. "She never wanted to go on a date with me. I asked her every day, but she never agreed." He sighed heavily and proceeded.

Naruto watched his sensei curiously, while he kept talking about a young Tsunade. He had a dreamy look in his eyes and Naruto wondered, if the man realized that he had a goofy grin on his lips. _Who would have thought..._

The blond listened to his stories quietly, until Jiraiya finally exhaled deeply, finishing. He regarded his student for a moment and then asked, "Why did you ask, gaki?"

Naruto swallowed. Well, why did he ask? "You know, I'm just so... _confused_. It's like all I ever believed in was taken from me and now I have no idea what to do any more." He was nervously fumbling with the hem of his shirt and unconsciously biting on his lower lip. He was nervous and insecure, Jiraiya understood.

Before he could offer any advice, Naruto took a deep breath, as if to gather his courage and all his sorrows left him in a fast stream of words. "I always thought I wanted to be Hokage. You know, so that everyone in Konoha would acknowledge me... But after all that happened... I realize now that I made a vital mistake." The boy swallowed and shot a nervous glance at his sensei, before looking back at his hands.

"I always thought that becoming Hokage was the key to being acknowledged. But I was wrong. The villagers will never make me their Hokage. Why would they make the 'demon brat'," he spat bitterly, "the most powerful person in the village? Some of them fear me, because they think I'm the Kyuubi in disguise. They mainly leave me alone, but the ones that truly hate me... They will never allow me in a position of power." He stopped again.

Jiraiya saw that it was not easy for the boy to open up to him. He had not overcome the trust issues caused by his team mates' betrayals and even after over two years of travelling together, Naruto seldom spoke his mind this freely. Anxious to interrupt him, Jiraiya remained silent and waited for him to go on.

"I'm not even sure, if I actually want to become Hokage in the future. Protecting a village full of people who despise me? They'd rather see me dead. It sounds so selfish, but I just can't see myself giving my life for people, who will never appreciate such a sacrifice."

His words made Jiraiya frown sadly. As harsh as Naruto's words were, deep inside he knew that the boy was speaking the truth. Right now, no one would ever accept him as Hokage.

"I wanted to be acknowledged and form bonds with everyone. I was so desperately in need of anyone to see me that I forgot to notice how my behaviour actually drove the people away. Maybe if I hadn't tried so hard to be noticed, people would not have been as angry with me. I shouldn't have pulled all those pranks! No wonder, they saw me as a nuisance! They only saw the demon brat causing trouble – and that was all I was really doing!"

By now Naruto's voice had increased in volume, expressing his inner distress. "I mean, honestly, what was I _thinking_? Even _you_ thought I was nothing but a dumb loud-mouth when we first met!"

He shot a glance at his teacher and took the man's guilty wince as confirmation. "I can't blame you, though. I _was _nothing but an idiot back than." His voice became quieter again. "I know, I changed a lot in the two years with you, Jiraiya. I hope you know how grateful to you I am that you gave me the chance to prove myself."

The blond looked up at his sensei with a serious look on his face. "I don't think I ever told you how much it means to me that you chose me as your student. All my life people told me what I couldn't do. But you... you saw behind the grins and clumsiness."

Jiraiya was blinking rapidly against the sudden moisture in his eyes. Who would have thought the brat's words would touch him like that? He knew Naruto was gazing at him intently. To hide his sudden emotions, he quickly placed a strong arm around the boy's shoulders and pulled him against his side, half-hugging him. "Ne, you're making an old man feel very sentimental here, brat."

A small smile appeared on Naruto's lips at Jiraiya's gruff but kind words.

"I really mean it, though. You were the first to ever truly believe in me." He leaned back a little to look into the tall Sannin's eyes. "Thank you."

Jiraiya suddenly felt warm, as he took in the sincere smile on the blond's face. For the first time in over two years, the smile was reaching his eyes. He smiled back at him, marvelling at those beautifully sparkling blue eyes that reminded him so much of the boy's father. Before Jiraiy had left Konoha with Naruto, he had promised himself to bring the smile back to his eyes. He had finally succeeded.

Naruto swallowed and spoke again. "You put your trust in me, because you saw that I can be more than the boastful, hyperactive idiot... And I think that is what I have to show everyone else, if I expect them to acknowledge me. Why would they trust someone who only causes trouble? Hell, even _I_ wouldn't have trusted me back than," he chuckled mirthlessly.

"Do you think they will acknowledge me, if I show them my other side? _This_ side of me?" his blue eyes intently stared at Jiraiya. The Sannin saw hope in them, but also fear of hearing that there was no chance for Naruto to ever be recognized.

The white-haired man turned towards him, fully facing him. "Uzumaki Naruto," he began almost solemnly, "you are one of the most courageous, honest and caring persons I know. Everyone, who doesn't see that side of you, is not worthy of your attention. You have always been like this, Naruto, your personality has not changed as much as you might think. It is only that you finally stopped hiding behind your grins." He looked thoughtful. "I know how easy it is to hide your insecurity behind loudness, to put on an act. Somehow people always assume that loudness is a sign of confidence."

Although Jiraiya was addressing him, Naruto knew that he was talking from personal experience.

"After what I told you about my team mates, you know how very much I understand you. Sasuke and Sakura hurt you deeply and I saw how much their betrayal changed your attitude towards life. I see how you're questioning everything you ever believed in, but let me tell you, Naruto, you need to find back to yourself. I hate to see you like this. You used to be so determined." Jiraiya shook his head in regret.

"Maybe you don't want to be Hokage any more, maybe you still do. Maybe you want the villagers to acknowledge you, maybe you don't. Maybe even with all your effort, they will never overcome their hatred. Maybe they will see the real you and some day come to trust and even love you. Maybe you now feel like you need their appreciation to be happy, maybe you will one day realize that you didn't. But so what? You don't need to decide everything now. Take your time. But eventually, you _have_ to find back to yourself."

His intense gaze was fixed on the blond. "This is _your_ life, Naruto. Whatever your team mates did to you, you can't let their actions dictate the rest of your life."

The blond only looked at his sensei with surprised, wide eyes. His words had touched something inside of him. It was not like his sensei had presented the solution to his problems, but it was a start. He would take his advise into thorough consideration.

But already something Jiraiya had said was taking root in his mind. _This is _your _life, Naruto. Whatever your team mates did to you, you can't let their actions dictate the rest of your life._ Naruto knew Jiraiya was right. He couldn't keep moping about Sasuke and Sakura. However, he would never forget it. He would never be the same again. He would not let their betrayals rule his life, though.

Nevertheless, Naruto had learned his lesson and he would not go back to being the village's idiot. Maybe Jiraiya was right and this new side of him had always been there, but he had been hiding it behind a mask. Maybe he somehow had to thank Sasuke and Sakura for forcing him to grow up and become the person he now was.

Suddenly, he didn't feel as insecure as just a minute ago. Still, he had too much to think about. After all, he still had to decided what he wanted to do in the future.

Heaving a heartfelt sigh, Naruto stood up. Jiraiya looked up at him, understanding that he needed time to make up his mind.

Before Naruto left, he turned back to Jiraiya and suddenly shot him his foxy grin. "You know," he said, "you should tell Tsunade-baachan that you love her."

The Sannin sputtered indignantly. "W-What!"

His student only kept grinning and then winked at him. "It's pretty obvious, you know. You got this dreamy look on your face whenever you talk about her."

Naruto left him alone, giving Jiraiya something to think about as well.

* * *

><p><strong>One and a half years after Sasuke left Konoha:<strong>

Itachi had finally found his otouto. It had not been easy to keep his search for Sasuke a secret. Madara was watching the Akatsuki members' moves and usually Itachi was always travelling with his shark-like partner Hoshigaki Kisame. Therefore it had taken longer than he would have liked, but this had also given him the chance to make up a plan of some sorts. Itachi knew that the second his little brother laid eyes on him, he would try to kill him. Itachi was not worried that Sasuke could defeat him. Not yet, at least. So his plan was simple.

They were at the northern border of the Land of Sound and Itachi had succeeded in getting Sasuke alone. He was watching him for three days already, making sure to catch him on his way back from a solo mission to Orochimaru's current hide-out.

Sasuke had grown, but was still smaller than Itachi. His hair had not changed at all, but to Itachi's liking, his clothes looked too much like Orochimaru's.

The moment Sasuke's onyx eyes focused on his aniki, they widened in shocked surprise. Immediately, the boy schooled his face back into the neutral mask he always wore.

"Itachi," he spat at the older Uchiha. His Sharingan flared red. Three tomoe began spinning angrily.

"Little brother," Itachi greeted and inclined his head at Sasuke. "You have grown."

"What do you want, Itachi?" Sasuke growled.

Itachi activated his Mangekyou. "I want _you,_" he simply said and instantly Sasuke was unknowingly caught in his genjutsu.

With an angry cry, Sasuke launched himself at Itachi. Itachi evaded a punch to his face, sidestepping his brother. Sasuke aimed a fist at his belly, but only hit air.

Losing his balance, Sasuke staggered. Itachi easily stepped around him.

Sasuke pulled out a kunai and whirled around to stab the kunai into Itachi's chest.

With a squishy sound, the sharp weapon sunk deeply into the heart of his brother.

Hot blood ran over his fingers and down his right arm.

A gasp was heard.

Sasuke looked up – and his gaze met a pair of too familiar ocean blue eyes.

_What?_ Sasuke stumbled back in shock.

In front of him stood a blond boy in an orange jumpsuit.

"Na-Naruto?" His voice was shaky. What was he doing here? He was fighting Itachi – how...

"Sasu... ke..." the boy gasped. Blood was gushing over his lips, running down his chin. The blue eyes stared at Sasuke in disbelief and obvious pain. He reached up with his hands and gripped the kunai protruding from his chest.

Sasuke could only stare as Naruto fell to his knees.

"Why did you..." Naruto started, but was choking on the blood that filled his mouth.

Naruto's hand reached out to the raven, silently begging him to come to him. Without hesitation, Sasuke knelt in front of the blond, grabbing the outstretched hand.

He fell to the side and Sasuke caught him, pulling the boy into his arms. His shoulders were on his lap and his head rested on his arm.

Sasuke didn't know what to do. Here he was attacking his brother. How had he ended up killing Naruto?

"Sasu-ke..." Naruto's bloody left hand came up to Sasuke's face, touching his cheek. The raven placed his hand over the other, still watching the blond, speechless.

Beautiful blue eyes focused on him. "Why did you kill me, Sasuke?"

Paling, Sasuke cringed at the words. Naruto's voice and eyes were full of accusation. "Why did you leave me alone?"

The raven saw the pain in the blue eyes, but knew it was not due to the kunai in his chest. Sasuke had left him. Abandoned him, although Naruto had pleaded him not to go. He had shoved a chidori through his chest, aiming to kill. This time it was a kunai. And this time, he had struck Naruto's heart.

"_Why?_" His voice was louder now, even more accusing. "How _could_ you? You said I was your best friend!" He was spitting blood, but Sasuke didn't care as little red droplets showered his face.

He needed to say something, anything. He needed to make this right. Before the blond died.

"Naruto, I..." Sasuke didn't know what to say. He hadn't _meant_ it when he punched through his thorax...? He had never wanted to kill him, but killing Itachi was more important...?

The blond's eyelids fluttered.

"No, _Naruto_!" Suddenly panicking, the raven shook his former team mate. "Don't you die on me, dobe!" He squeezed his shoulders, desperately trying to get a reaction out of the dying boy.

"Don't die, please! I'm _sorry_, Naruto!" He didn't care that he was shouting at a dying boy. "Naruto, do you hear me! Please, _just please, don't die!_"

Naruto coughed. His eyes opened again. But suddenly Sasuke wished they had stayed closed. Too many emotions were swirling in the blue orbs. And all were directed at him. Pain. Confusion. Accusation – and. _Hatred_. There was a coldness in these eyes that made Sasuke shiver.

"_I hate you, Sasuke," s_aid the boy in a hard voice. His eyes gave a final flutter, closing forever.

The body in Sasuke's arms slumped, his head lifelessly lolling to the side. Uzumaki Naruto was dead.

"_No!"_ Sasuke wailed in anguish. There was no mistaking. This time he had killed Naruto for real. The dobe. His best friend? Hot tears were running down his blood-stained cheeks.

"No no no no no..." he repeated to himself, not accepting what was happening.

The blond's last words were playing in his head. _I hate you, Sasuke. _Knowing that the only person Sasuke had ever considered a friend, had died hating him, made his chest hurt like it was on fire. The dull ache that was his constant companion exploded to unknown heights. The pain consumed him. It surged through his body, feeding on his momentary self-loathing.

All thoughts on Itachi were forgotten as he held onto the corpse of his former rival and best friend.

* * *

><p>Sasuke passed out before Itachi released the genjutsu he had cast over his littler brother in the moment Sasuke had first looked into his Mangekyou Sharingan.<p>

The older Uchiha stood in silence over his brother's unconscious form. He was surprised. Beyond surprised, actually. Itachi had not expected this.

The genjutsu he had cast on Sasuke was supposed to show the boy's greatest fear. Itachi had expected something in the lines of Itachi killing Sasuke, failing to get revenge, or Sasuke reliving the night Itachi had killed their parents. He had not expected... well, _this._

Sasuke's greatest fear was _killing_ Naruto? Or _losing_ Naruto? Or Naruto telling him that he _hated_ him? Or maybe even _all_ of those?

How could he use this new information to his advantage? Itachi dismissed his former plans and pondered on his options.

Sasuke was unconscious. He could easily take the boy with him now. But where to? Itachi could not bring him to the Akatsuki. He would never let Madara lay hands on his otouto. But he couldn't take him to Konoha either. There was a 'kill on sight' order on Itachi – and probably on Sasuke, too, by now. And why would Itachi – traitor and murderer in the eyes of everyone except for the council Elders – bring back his brother to a village the boy had betrayed as well? No one would believe him. So taking him to Konoha was no option, neither was Akatsuki.

Itachi didn't like it, but he had no choice but to leave Sasuke with Orochimaru for the time being.

He sighed sorrowful and bent over the form of his little brother.

"I'm sorry, otouto. I promise, I won't fail you again. I will see you safe." He quietly flicked Sasuke's forehead with his index and middle finger like he hadn't done for so many years.

Sparing Sasuke a last glance, he walked away, a new – better – plan already forming in his head.

* * *

><p><strong>Two years and six months after Jiraiya and Naruto left Konoha:<strong>

Master and student were packing their things in silence. Naruto sealed their cooking utensils together with his bedroll and backpack back into the storage scroll. He used some water from his water bottle to extinguish the last remnants of the camp fire.

Jiraiya watched him, arching a white eyebrow at the boy, who was taking longer than usual. He knew something was up with his student. Naruto had been increasingly restless the last couple of days. They had planned on leaving for Konoha today. They were only three days away, already within the borders of Fire Country.

Naruto eventually finished and was now strapping his katana to his lower back. Slowly, he strolled over to his sensei and stopped in front of him, looking up at the taller man.

His blue eyes held a swirl of emotions, but it had become more difficult lately to read the boy. Still, Jiraiya knew what was coming. He knew him.

"Jirayia, I –" Naruto started, but Jiraiya interrupted him with a movement of his hand.

"It's okay, kiddo." He reassuringly smiled down at his ward and placed a large, heavy hand on his shoulder.

Naruto peered up at him, searching in his face for any signs of disapproval.

He wouldn't return to Konoha with Jiraiya.

Naruto's mouth opened again. "I just need time to figure out some things."

"I know."

"Tell obaa-chan I'll be back soon, will you?"

Jiraiya pulled him into a tight hug, which Naruto gladly returned.

"I will," the man replied and affectionately ruffled his student's hair. "Just don't take too long. And stay away from the Akatsuki, you hear me?"

Naruto nodded obediently. Jiraiya released him and with a last smile, turned towards the road leading to Konoha.

Naruto watched as Jiraiya's figure got smaller and smaller, and finally vanished in the distance.

He took a deep breath and, straightening himself, set out into the opposite direction.

Away from Konoha.

* * *

><p><strong>I feel pretty good about this chapter. I really enjoy writing this story! :)<strong>

**I need some constructive criticism, so please tell me what you _don't_ like about the story. I can't improve, if no one tells me what I could do better, you know.**

**Thanks for reading,**

**xXHaneliXx**


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't own Naruto!**

* * *

><p><strong>'He had no idea'<strong>

**Chapter 6**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Now that he's back in the atmosphere<br>with drops of Jupiter in his hair  
>he acts like summer and walks like rain<br>reminds me that there's a time to change  
>since the return from his stay on the moon<br>he listens like spring and he talks like June**_

_**But tell me did you sail across the sun did you make it to the milky way  
>to see the lights all fading and that heaven is overrated<br>tell me did you fall for a shooting star one without a permanent scar  
>and did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there<strong>_

**- 'Drops of Jupiter' by Train (altered version)**

* * *

><p>"<em>Show it to me!"<em>

"_No."_

"_Why not?"_

"_Because you can't do it!"_

"_Of course I can, believe it! Just show it to me!"_

"_No!"_

"_Come on, Sasuke! Show me!"_

"_No!"_

_Two children were arguing loudly. A six-year old blond boy was begging his raven-haired rival to teach him the technique he had been practising, until said boy had interrupted him. It just looked too cool, Naruto needed to learn it! Sasuke was spitting fire! From his mouth!_

_The young raven was practising _Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu (1). _His father had shown the technique to him and Sasuke was very determined to get it down. He wanted to make his father proud and prove that he could be just as good as Itachi. But the annoying blond boy had somehow found him training at the lake. And he now demanded of him to teach the technique to him. But there was just no way that the dead-last would manage a technique of this level. And besides, it was a family jutsu, so he wouldn't reveal it to him. He was not an Uchiha, after all._

"_No!"_

"_Yes!"_

"_No!"_

_The two had begun shoving each other; Sasuke trying to get rid of the smaller boy and Naruto trying his best to convince the other to teach him._

_Sasuke, being a little older and taller, was stronger than the blond. With a final push, the raven was able to get the boy off of him. Losing his balance, the blond fell backwards and, with a surprised squeak, fell off the small wooden footbridge, landing in the water with a loud splash._

_Smirking satisfied, Sasuke watched the small blond. He was wildly waving his arms. His head sunk under the water. Sputtering, he surfaced._

"_Sasu –", he sunk again, cutting him off. "Can't –"_

_Sasuke watched him curiously. Why wasn't he just swimming to the shore?_

"_Swim!" Gasping for air, he sunk under again, splashing wildly. Sasuke caught a look of his wide, frightened eyes, before the water swallowed him again._

_Can't... swim...?_ Can't swim! _Naruto couldn't swim, Sasuke realized!_

_Without a second thought, Sasuke jumped into the water. With quick, skillful motions, he reached the panicking boy. He grabbed him around the waist, trying to pull at least his head atop the water. It was difficult to hold onto the violently thrashing boy, but he eventually managed. He was rewarded with the sound of Naruto's coughing, as he drew in the desperately needed air. He hooked his arms and his and manoeuvred both of them to the sandy shore of the small lake._

_Naruto lay next to him, coughing and spitting water._

_Sasuke sat up and watched him, feeling a little guilty now for pushing him into the lake. But how could he have known that the boy didn't know how to swim? He was six years old! Sasuke had learned swimming two years ago!_

_Eventually, Naruto's strained coughing subsided and he pulled himself into a sitting position next to the raven._

"_Why can't you swim?", Sasuke blurted out. It must've come out harsher, than he intended to, because the boy next to him flinched and looked to the ground, avoiding his scrutinizing eyes._

_His voice was uncharacteristically subdued, when he answered. "No one taught me", he whispered._

_Sasuke wasn't sure, whether he had heard correctly. "What? Speak up!"_

_The boy's head snapped up, blue eyes focusing angrily on him. How dare he mock him about this? After all, it was Sasuke's fault he had nearly drowned._

"_No one taught me!", he burst out, glaring at him defensively._

_Sasuke was confused. "Why wouldn't your parents – " He stopped abruptly, as he saw the pained look on Naruto's face, before he turned her head away from him. He remembered. Naruto was an orphan. He had no parents. No one, who would show him how to swim. But surely there was someone who took care of him. He had known him for barely a year now, since the beginning of the academy. He head never heard him talking about anyone resembling some kind of parental figure. And if he remembered correctly, Naruto was also living on his own._

_Sasuke thought about his own family. About how his father had taught him swimming when he was four years old in this very lake. His mother had been very proud of him and Itachi had congratulated him, too, which had made Sasuke beam with pride. Incapable of imagining being all alone, having no one to care about, he felt pity swell up in him._

_Naruto was visibly sad and maybe even ashamed to have to admit that there was no one, who cared about him enough to teach him something as simple as this._

_Before he knew what he was doing, he saw his hand nudge the other boy in the shoulder. "I could teach you", he murmured. His voice sounded strange to his ears and he felt a small blush appear on his cheeks._

_Naruto slowly looked back at him. His blue eyes searched his face for any sign of mockery. Did he really mean it? Why would he take the time? After all, they had just been arguing, because he had not been willing to teach him the fire jutsu. Then why teach him how to swim?_

_Naruto suspiciously squinted his eyes at him. "Why would you do that?"_

_Sasuke was shyly fumbling with his hands in his lap. They were still wet and his clothes were soaked. He didn't know exactly where this generous offer was coming from, but he wouldn't take it back. Not after seeing the hopeful shimmer in Naruto's eyes._

"_All shinobi must know how to swim", Sasuke replied, actually finding truth in his small, evasive lie._

_A very hesitant smile formed on the blond's lips. "Really, would you teach me?" The tone in his voice was so hopeful and genuinely grateful, that Sasuke felt himself nodding at him._

"_Yes, I promise." He looked into Naruto's blue eyes. They were filled with joy and sparkling from the last light of the setting sun._

He promised!, _Naruto thought, dumbfounded. Unable to express his appreciation in any other way, he threw himself at the boy next to him, hugging him around the waist, throwing him over in the process._

_Sasuke suddenly looked up at the darkening sky, the blond boy clinging to him. His cheeks were still red and he was glad that it was already too dark to make it out. Returning slowly to his usual composed self – how was it that around Naruto he always acted so unlike him, anyway? – he peeled Naruto's arms off of him, sitting up again. The smaller child happily grinned at him, forgotten that not half an hour ago, he had been very angry with him._

"_Will you teach me now?", he asked eagerly, slightly bouncing on his knees._

_Sasuke had to smirk at his eagerness, somehow feeling good for being the reason for his happiness. "No, not today. It's already getting dark."_

_His smile weakened a little at his words. "Another time, dobe." And with that his face lit up again._

"_Teme", he grinned at him, returning their usual insults._

* * *

><p>Sasuke had no idea that he would never keep the promise to his blond rival. And he had no idea that he would come to regret it deeply.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>One and a half years after Sasuke left Konoha:<strong>

Sasuke awoke, feeling disoriented. His head was throbbing and he was oddly aware of the dull ache in his chest. He had come to live with it, pushing it back, not letting it consume him. Today though, it felt fresh, almost like the day of the Uchiha massacre, almost like after the fight in the Valley of the End, after he had abandoned Naruto. _Naruto..._ His memories came back to him. He had _killed_ Naruto! He had stabbed him in the chest with a kunai! He had stopped breathing in his arms! Sasuke's fist gripped the fabric over his aching heart. _No,_ he silently pleaded.

_/I hate you, Sasuke!/_

It couldn't be true. Naruto's last words. Did the dobe really hate him? But how could he not. Sasuke had killed him. Unintentionally, though. He thought back. He had come from a mission for Orochimaru – and suddenly Itachi had appeared! _Itachi... _Sasuke wondered. What had his brother wanted? And why had Naruto been with him? He thought about how he hadn't seen Itachi after he had stabbed Naruto. And he had turned around, ready to kill Itachi. But in Itachi's stead, there was Naruto. The blond idiot... _Could it be...?_

His agonizing musings were interrupted, when a door opened.

_A door? _Where exactly was he, anyway? The last thing he remembered was a dying, bleeding Naruto in his arms... He now realized that he seemed to be back in Orochimaru's hide-out. There was no mistaking this strange wall design.

Sasuke looked up and saw Kabuto standing in the room. "Ah, Sasuke-kun, I see you are awake."

The medic nin walked over to Sasuke's bed. He professionally checked his vital status. Deeming everything to be fine, he coolly regarded the Uchiha.

Wanting some insight to how he had ended up back with Orochimaru, Sasuke asked, "What happened?"

Kabuto kept silent for a moment, then replied, "I felt a strange spike in your chakra signature. You can be glad that you weren't too far from the base or I wouldn't have felt it. You were unconscious, when I found you." He watched the raven closely. "Do you remember anything?"

Sasuke hesitated. He didn't want the medic nin to know that he had met Itachi. And he wasn't yet sure of what had happened exactly. "No."

The grey-haired shinobi looked at him quizzically, obviously not believing him. "I felt the remains of a genjutsu around you", he revealed.

At his words, Sasuke felt relief wash over him. _A genjutsu! _Itachi had tricked him into seeing Naruto's death! He hadn't actually killed him! His heart rate increased as confusing emotions filled him. For the second time, he had somehow not ended up killing the boy! His relief was so strong that he had to look away from Kabuto, to hide the emotions crossing over his face. The relief was so strong, that he forgot to notice how easily his brother had still caught him in his genjutus, failing to see that he still lacked power.

Just to be sure, Sasuke asked another question. "Was there any blood when you found me?"

"No", Kabuto squinted his eyes at him doubtfully, "Was there supposed to be blood?"

"No, never mind", Sasuke answered quickly. He had his answers. It had really been a genjutsu.

_Why would Itachi seek me out only to cast a genjutsu on me? _Sasuke couldn't find a plausible reason to justify his brother's actions. Itachi had left him behind. He could have killed him effortlessly. Why didn't he? And why would Itachi show him a genjutsu with Naruto in it? Maybe Itachi had hoped that Sasuke knew where Naruto was? After all, the last time they had met, Itachi had wanted to kidnap Naruto; though Sasuke still didn't know why Itachi and his blue-skinned partner had been after the younger boy.

There were too many open questions for his liking. He carefully swung his legs over the bed and stood. He felt a little shaky, but was fine otherwise. He would go train, maybe that would ease his mind.

* * *

><p><strong>Two years and eleven months after Naruto left Konoha, six months since he parted with Jiraiya:<strong>

Naruto exasperatedly threw the cards on the table. He had lost – again. He pushed the chair back from the table, ignoring the lecherous grins directed at him. The five men and women at the table stared longingly after him, calling after him to come back, keeping them entertained.

Naruto didn't turn back. He left the shady casino, grudgingly paying his debts.

He had just found out something else about himself. He sucked at gambling. As lucky as he usually was, luck eluded him, when it came to card games such as poker.

The teenager sighed and walked along the dark streets of the dubious town he was in. He had arrived here two days ago. Alone. He had been on his own for little over five months now and it had been interesting five months so far.

As he had no idea what he wanted in the future, Naruto had thrown himself into whatever came his way. He had started meaningless fights in bars with dangerous looking guys. He had beaten up bandits, who tried to rob him one night. He had kissed a young woman he had met in a bar; but it had not gone beyond kissing. He had tried fishing in wave country, finding it rather boring. He had tried playing an instrument, but found out that he had no musical talent. He had tried drawing, too, and thanks to his lessons in sealing, he found his sketches to be rather good. He had climbed the highest mountain he could find – without using chakra; it had been very exhausting, but arriving on the peak, overlooking the small world to his feet, a sense of accomplishment had filled him. He had drunk sake until the world had been spinning around him and in the process had also found out that he could drink a lot before puking his guts out, thanks to Kyuubi.

Concerning Kyuubi, he had also gotten new information. Jiraiya had always suggested to talk to his tenant, but so far, Naruto had been somehow reluctant to do so. One night, when sleep wouldn't come, he had finally tried to meditate. And indeed, he had entered his mind scape, meeting the fox demon. The chakra creature had been as hostile as he had expected. He was very apprehensive of the things the demon had told him, but some of it, he did believe. He had asked the Kyuubi why he would no longer heal his wounds, leaving him scarred for the rest of his life. By now his body was littered with scars of every form and size. Jiraiya did not go easy on him and Naruto always pushed himself as much as possible, often ending in him passing out. Kyuubi had told him that the scars served as a reminder of his own vulnerability. He _was_ a demon container, which gained him more than one useful advantage, such as the incredible healing. But still, he was only human and he could still die. And the demon would die together with him. Naruto knew that he would do everything in his power to not let him die, though. However, he could somehow understand his reasoning. The demon had started leaving him scarred after the almost-fatal wound caused by Sasuke's chidori. If not for Kyuubi, he would doubtlessly have died. Naruto swore, he saw the huge fox's eyes widen slightly in surprise, as he had sincerely thanked him for not letting him die that day. Nonetheless, he made sure to keep in mind that it had by no means been a selfless act. It was only thanks to the demon's own survival instinct that he was still alive.

Maybe Naruto only imagined it, but after the talk with Kyuubi, he felt as if it had become slightly easier to access his chakra.

Naruto made a mental note to avoid gambling in the future. It had cost him his last money. He had taken to doing all kinds of jobs in order to get money. Jiraiya hadn't left him very much and thanks to his experiments, he was pretty much broke by now.

But had he found any answers yet? No. He still didn't know what to do. He had no purpose; no idea what he wanted to achieve, no aims for the future.

He arrived in the small hotel room he had rented, grabbed his few things and left the town. He liked travelling during the night, when the world was sleeping. It was relaxing. It also helped training his senses, always staying alert.

His feet carried him down a dusty road. He followed them willingly, wondering where they would lead him this time.

* * *

><p><strong>Six months before:<strong>

Tsunade sat at her desk. Her chin rested on her hands and she was silently cursing the stupid paperwork. Her eyes fluttered, she was tired. It was already dark outside and she felt like she was the only person left in Konoha up and working.

Fighting against sleep, she straightened up, grabbing the next report. It contained the progress of the latest ANBU recruits. She stopped for a second at the names of Hyuuga Neji and Inuzuka Kiba. She still remembered the two boys from when they had asked about Naruto after she had told them that the boy had left to train. Pleased about their progress after one year in ANBU, she was about to reach for the next report, when she heard the clanking of wooden sandals on the floor of her office. _Could it be...?_

The blonde Hokage turned towards her window. Her face lit up at the sight of her white-haired team mate.

"Ne, Tsunade-hime, still working?", the tall man greeted her, flashing her a grin.

Tsunade returned it and allowed Jiraiya to kiss her on the cheek. She felt the skin where his lips had touched her grow hot. She suppressed a blush. Looking around his broad figure, expecting to find Naruto, she frowned.

"Where is he, Jiraiya?"

The taller man squirmed a little. "You know", he began, "he told me to tell you, that he'll return soon."

"What? He didn't return with you? Where is he? You left him _alone_?" Her voice was loud and Jiraiya flinched.

He repeated the conversation between him and Naruto to Tsunade. About how the boy didn't know what to do, having no aim, trying to find himself.

Jiraiya finished and Tsunade sighed. She had hoped that her favourite gaki would be able to mend while travelling with Jiraiya. But it seemed as if he still needed some time. And she wouldn't take it from him. Whenever the boy returned, she would support him in whatever decisions and aims he came back with. She just wished he'd come back today.

* * *

><p><strong>With Naruto again: (Two years and eleven months after Naruto left Konoha, six months since he parted with Jiraiya)<strong>

Naruto regarded the huge sandy walls of Sunagakure. His feet had taken him all the way through the desert to the huge gates of the Village hidden in the Sand. He smiled. His feet had taken him to the one person, who would maybe understand him.

He greeted the guards at the gates. As he was still not wearing his Konoha forehead protector, he was not recognized as a shinobi immediately. Although the katana on his back spoke volumes and also his attire was rather unusual for a civilian. He gave his name and said he was here to see Sabaku no Gaara. The two guards shared a quick glance, making Naruto wonder what it was about. Nonetheless, they told him he could see him – if he approved. He wondered why Gaara had to give his approval, but followed one of the guards nonetheless.

They were making their way through the village and Naruto took in the sight of the funny round houses that looked so much different than Konoha. Eventually, he realized that they were headed in the direction of the Kazekage tower. They entered the building and climbed several stairs to stop in front of a door, which said 'Kazekage's Office'. His guard motioned Naruto to wait and sit on the bench in the hallway. He did as he was told, still not sure why they would see the Kazekage when he wanted to visit Gaara. The guard entered the office after a polite knock. He emerged a minute later, holding the door open for Naruto. "Kazekage-sama will see you now." He bowed and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Confused, Naruto looked around in the office. It looked a lot like Tsunade's office in Konoha, with a large desk and a windowed wall. A slender figure wearing the white and green robe of the Kazekage was standing behind the desk, facing the windows.

"Um, hello", Naruto started intelligently. Why was he here?

A deep, calm voice answered him. "Uzumaki Naruto." The way the Kazekage said his name sounded familiar to the confused boy.

The figure turned around, taking off his hat in the process, revealing a mob of messy red hair, beautiful, wise teal eyes and the handsome features of Gaara.

"Gaara?", Naruto said stupidly.

The young man placed his hat on the desk and walked around the desk to stand in front of him. He placed his right hand on his shoulder and smiled a wonderfully gentle smile at him. "Naruto."

Finally realizing that it was really Gaara in front of him, Naruto felt himself grin at him warmly. "Gaara!", he repeated and despite his newest apprehension around other people, he closed the distance between them and hugged him.

Surprised, Gaara tensed a little, but quickly returned the hug.

Naruto stepped back and looked at him.

"You are Kazekage now!", Naruto stated the obvious, not quite believing it yet.

"Yes", Gaara replied calmly, "thanks to you, Naruto."

"Huh, thanks to me?" He was irritated at how dumb he was currently sounding.

Gaara returned his questioning eyes. "If it wasn't for you, Naruto, I wouldn't be where I am today." His voice was so solemn and grateful that Naruto felt himself blush and he quickly averted his gaze.

Gaara placed a finger under his chin, forcing him to look up at him again. "I mean it, Naruto. You helped me overcome my hatred towards life. You showed me that there is more to life than that and that proving my existence by killing others was wrong." He frowned sadly. "Thanks to you, I was finally able to form bonds of love and friendship."

Naruto suddenly felt sick. Gaara believed in bonds now? Well, he could tell him now that believing in something like that would only end up in him getting hurt. "You should be very careful in whom you put your trust, Gaara", he said bitterly, turning his head away.

"This coming from you, Naruto?" Gaara knew Naruto had been hurt by Sasuke. He had been there with his siblings to help the Sasuke retrieval team, but he had not yet seen what effect Sasuke's defection had on the cheery blond. Apparently, the Uchiha had thoroughly crushed his beliefs.

"It is better not to have any bonds. Being alone hurts less than losing a precious person." Even to Naruto's own ears, his voice sounded empty and utterly defeated.

Gaara wouldn't believe his ears. "Did Sasuke tell you that?", he almost spat. Such a strong show of emotion from the otherwise calm person; but he had never liked the Uchiha. "You are a fool, if you truly believe that, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto looked up at his angry tone.

"You have been hurt, I can understand that. But I cannot – and will not – accept you talking like that, Naruto." He took his hand and pulled him along.

They left the Kazekage tower and stepped into the busy streets of Suna's market district. "Watch closely, Naruto", Gaara ordered and Naruto complied.

The civilians of Suna greeted Gaara. They smiled, when they saw him. Some waved at him, shouting a blessing.

They walked down the road and at every corner, people stopped their conversations to greet and look at the Kazekage. The fact that Gaara was still holding Naruto's hand in his own, was also drawing curious glances.

"Do you see?", Gaara asked.

Naruto watched the people more closely. There was genuine joy in their eyes when they saw the leader of their village. Friendly smiles. Open stares, yes, but no hatred was directed at him. No one called him a 'demon' under his breath when they walked by.

Naruto was fascinated. What had changed? How did Gaara get everyone to acknowledge him – to love him? He was their leader now, recognized as the strongest person in the village. The person, everyone put their trust in.

Envy coursed through him, making him feel both guilty and sick. He shouldn't be jealous of Gaara. He had finally achieved what he had always dreamed of. He understood him better than anyone else. How much this must mean to him.

"How did you do it?", he heard himself asking, a pleading tone in his voice.

Gaara stopped in the middle of the street and turned to him. "I earned their trust, Naruto."

"But how? What is the key, Gaara?" He was desperate to get an answer to that question.

The redhead regarded him intently, sad about how the blond had lost his course. "It's trust, Naruto." He smiled at him. "You used to call it a bond. Either way, the foundation is trust. I never trusted anyone but myself. I was suspicious of everyone. They all hated me and wanted me dead. Even my father wanted me assassinated." He swallowed at the painful memory.

"But then I met you. You were the first person to trust me. You treated me differently. You weren't afraid of me and I felt that I could relate to you. When I found out that we were both Jinchuuriki, that we carried the same burden, I wanted to kill you. To prove my existence; like I used to. But you defeated me and yet you didn't kill me."

He smiled, but the look on his handsome face was a mix of sadness and seriousness. "You trusted me and wouldn't stop talking about bonds. So I tried it, you know. I put my trust in my siblings. And I was rewarded with their trust in return. We formed a bond; first it was friendship and now it's love. I finally had a family. So I started to open up to other people. I trusted them, and they started trusting me. They started to see behind my sand and saw how I had changed."

His eyes were still fixed on Naruto, who absorbed his words like they held the answer to all the questions of the universe. "It's a give and take, Naruto. You gave me your trust, and I gave you mine. We formed a bond. The first I ever had. It was a gift. You ended my loneliness."

Gaara tucked on the blond's arm and they started walking again. After a few moments of silence, Gaara pointed to a scene to their right. A mother was comforting her crying daughter. She had obviously fallen, her left knee was bleeding. The woman hugged the girl, rocking her and whispered to her soothingly. She spotted Naruto and Gaara watching them.

"Look, Hami", she turned her daughter around, "it's Kazekage-sama."

The small girl, who was called Hami, quickly stopped crying. "Hello, Kazekage-sama!", she said in a high voice; she was not older than five.

Naruto watched as Gaara walked over to the child and knelt down on one knee in front of her. He gently wiped away her tears. The girl smiled at the gesture. Gaara took a fist full of the sand on the ground. Naruto felt him channel some chakra into it and watched how the sand transformed into a beautiful desert rose. He handed the hard flower to the child. Delighted, Hami laughed and forgotten was her bleeding knee.

"Thank you, Kazekage-sama!", she said with a wide smile.

"You're welcome, Hami-chan", Gaara replied in his calm voice and smiled back at the child and her mother. He stood back up and walked over to Naruto.

The blond boy was astounded at the display. Adoration shone on the child's face, who was now happily chattering to his mother about how much she loved Kazekage-sama.

Gaara looked at Naruto. "Do you see it?"

"Yes."

They continued their walk, but Naruto's question broke the pondering silence between them. "How did you do it? I mean, how did you overcome their hatred?"

"You mean how I can trust these people, although they hated me and wanted me dead? How they deserve my care and trust?"

Naruto just nodded.

"It was not easy to overlook what they had done to me. They made my life a living hell, but you know that." Gaara sighed. "But I imagined what_ I_ would have done in their stead. Imagine it, Naruto. A boy, who has a _demon_ sealed inside of him. The Kyuubi attacked Konoha and you know that many people died. Their grief blinded them and they were incapable of seeing the child you were. But what would _you_ have done? Would you have seen the demon or the child? I am not defending their actions, Naruto, don't get me wrong. But I don't think you can fully blame them. The memory of the Kyuubi was too fresh on their minds."

The stopped walking in front of what looked like a training ground, but Gaara continued talking. "Grief and the pain of loss causes people to do things they would never think about under different circumstanced. And they will eventually regret what they did. Just look at Sasuke." Naruto's face didn't betray any emotion at the mention of the Uchiha's name. "He lost his whole clan. I can't imagine how painful it still is for him. But he is a very good example of how people can change when confronted with grief and losing your precious people. Just look at yourself. I think you felt the same pain when Sasuke betrayed you."

Naruto listened to the redhead. His words were true and he didn't mean to hurt him, so he didn't feel angry about him mentioning Sasuke. The boy was a sore spot.

"You made me believe in the good of people. You showed me that people can change. So I believed, too. And now I have proof. My village loves me, I know it, because I can feel it everyday. They made me their Kazekage and I will do everything in my power to keep these people save."

Gaara smiled at him once more and spoke his final words on the topic. "I hated these people probably as much as they hated me. The way they treated me, I couldn't help but silently hate them. And I don't believe you, if you tell me that deep within yourself, you never felt the tiniest amount of hatred towards the people of Konoha. We are only humans, Naruto. I have learned that and accepted it. I forgave them for what they did to me, I started trusting them, forming bonds."

Gaara put his hand on Naruto's shoulder, squeezing it comfortingly. "Forgive Konoha for what it did to you. It may seem easier said than done, but you will be rewarded, Naruto."

Naruto swallowed against the lump in his throat. Gaara was right. He had felt hatred towards the villagers. Every time they had beaten him, he hated them for it. He hated them when they didn't allow him to step into their store. He hated them when they called him names and when their cold eyes followed him. But he had been a child and they were adults. How could anyone treat a child like that. Grief? Pain of loss? He had felt it, when Sasuke had severed their bond. Would he start believing in bonds again after Gaara's words? It seemed too naïve to just go back to that.

He sighed and swallowed again. He had a lot to think about.

Gaara watched the different emotions run over his handsome, whisker-marked face.

"Come, Naruto." He led him onto the training ground. "It is time to spar now. I have been waiting for a worthy opponent for some time now." He spread his legs hips-wide and summoned his sand from the gourd. Naruto watched with wide eyes as the sand formed a sharp-edged katana.

"I saw that you now have a katana, let's see if you know how to use it." Gaara gave him a seldom smirk, eager to fight the other Jinchuuriki.

Naruto shook off the depressing thoughts. He would have enough time ponder on things later. Right now he was facing an opponent of the likes he had not fought with since he had parted with Jiraiya. This was going to be good. He unsheathed his katana, widening his stance.

Gaara attacked and his sword came up to parry the redhead's blow. His arms shook from the force behind it. He was suddenly very grateful to Jiraiya that he had organized a kenjutsu master for him. The middle-aged man from Lightning Country had trained him in the art of the sword where Jiraiya's knowledge on the topic had ended.

Attacking Gaara and defending himself from his skillful motions, he quickly forgot about the earlier conversation and tuned everything else out, concentrating on the fight.

* * *

><p><strong>Two weeks later:<strong>

Naruto was slowly walking through the desert of the Land of Wind. The sun was mercilessly grilling him, but it affected him less than it should have. Another benefit of being a Jinchuuriki.

He had left Suna in the early morning. Saying good-bye to Gaara had been hard, but Suna and Konoha were only a three-day distance from each other. They had sparred daily and Naruto felt better than ever. Gaara's calm demeanour had soothed his confused mind. Their feral fights had revived him. They eventually had to leave the training ground they had first sparred in. It had taken too much damage. In order to keep Suna safe, the two Jinchuuriki had taken their sessions outside of the Suna fortifications. There was not much they could damage in a desert.

The blond demon-vessel had thought about Gaara's words and taken them to heart. He would return to Konoha. He was still not too sure, whether it was the right decision. He had a vague idea of what he wanted from the future. He wanted what Gaara had. He was sure about it. A village filled with caring and loving people, no hate directed at him. It had seemed like a dream to him. But maybe he could achieve it, too? He just didn't know how. Forgive the villagers for their hatred? It sounded so easy. He would see, if he could actually go through with it. But for that, he had to go back to Konoha.

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt an only vaguely familiar chakra signature getting closer. He stopped walking. Who would approach him in the middle of the desert? He couldn't place the signature, but was sure he had felt it before. Only where?

The person was getting closer. He waited in silence, awaiting whoever it might be.

The figure stopped several feet away. Naruto stared. A figure in a cloak – with red clouds on it. Raven hair, long, in a ponytail. Behind the high collar, he could hardly make out the face, but he knew who he was facing.

"Uchiha Itachi."

* * *

><p>Itachi had found the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. Finally. It had taken longer than he had thought. After all, Naruto was supposed to be travelling with the quite flamboyant Jiraiya. He had not known that he had been on his own for half a year now. But pure chance had directed Itachi to him. He had been assigned a mission in Wind Country and to his surprise, he had felt the two Jinchuuriki's chakra. There had been no mistaking the evil chakra of the fox demon and its intense killing intent. It had not been too difficult for him to convince Kisame to leave him alone for a few hours. After all, his fishy partner could use some alone time, too.<p>

Itachi regarded the boy. He was giving off a confident aura. Had he intended on fighting him, he would've been very apprehensive. Uzumaki Naruto was clearly not the child he had been three years ago. In front of him stood a young man, who knew his power.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Itachi greeted him, inclining his head.

"What do you want, Uchiha?", Naruto snarled.

Itachi would better convince him that he meant no harm or he would attack him. "I don't want to harm you, Naruto-san. Please hear me out."

He barked a mirthless laugh. "Any why would I believe you, _traitor?"_

He flinched at the insult. Of course, he didn't know any better. In his eyes, he was a traitor. He had killed his entire clan. _Except for Sasuke. _"I need your help."

_What? _Naruto's eyes widened at the incredulity of his words. This was clearly some kind of trap. Maybe his partner was hiding somewhere? But he didn't feel his chakra. And he could neither smell nor hear him. And by now Naruto could easily rely on his heightened senses.

"Why would _you _need _my_ help?"

"I need you to help me get Sasuke back to Konoha."

"_What?_", he couldn't help but blurt out.

"I want to bring Sasuke back to Konoha. He is not safe with Orochimaru."

"Oh, how long did it take you to figure _that_ out?", he asked sarcastically.

Itachi stared at the blond, emotionless.

Naruto thought about his words. "Why would _you_ need _me _to rescue Sasuke?" He couldn't see his role in this. "And why would you want to rescue him in the first place?", he added as an afterthought.

"I made a huge mistake, Naruto-san. I never planned for this to happen. I need your help. _Please."_

Maybe it was his sincere tone of voice or the fact that the word 'please' left his mouth, but Naruto didn't stop Itachi as he took a few steps closer. He was less than ten feet away now.

"So maybe I believe that you want me to help you. But what makes you believe that I can be of use to you in regards to Sasuke?", the Jinchuuriki asked.

Itachi was surprised at how calm his voice was. Naruto was still apprehensive and suspicious, but maybe he would hear him out? "My little brother is consumed with hatred – and it's my fault. But I know that he still cares about you deeply. In fact, you're his most precious person, Naruto-san."

He saw how the boy's lips curled up into a snarl. "Why would you say that? Don't lie to me, Itachi!", he spat at him. "I know for a fact that Sasuke does _not_ care about me! He never did! _He proved that when he shoved his chidori through my chest!_" He hit his chest with a clenched fist, right over his heart.

Oh. Itachi had not known until now what hat happened between the two young shinobi back then, but now he saw that Sasuke had truly tried to kill him. _That explains the vision of the genjutsu, _Itachi deduced. Obviously, his little brother was regretting his actions. Even if he didn't admit it, the genjutsu had revealed it.

He quickly tried to appease the furious boy in front of him. He could attack him any second, but he needed him to help him. His plans depended on his cooperation.

"I'm not lying to you, Naruto-san. But I can't prove it. You would have to trust me on this."

"_Trust_ you?", he mimicked incredulously.

"Please, Naruto", Itachi begged. His pride was taking damage here, but where had his pride ever gotten him?

"Assuming I believed you, what makes you think _I_ wantto help Sasuke?"

That made Itachi pause. Why wouldn't Naruto want to rescue Sasuke? "He is your closest friend."

The blond chuckled mirthlessly. "Wrong." His cold eyes fixed on him. "Sasuke is _not_ my closest friend. Maybe he was at some point. But that became meaningless the moment he abandoned me." He shook his head. "I can't help you, Itachi."

Itachi silently cursed. This was not going the way he had planned. His onyx eyes returned the cold, blue stare. "I have something to offer in return."

"I don't think you have anything I want", Naruto replied uneasily, misinterpreting Itachi's words.

Very slowly, so not to appear suspicious, he pulled out a scroll from the depth of his cloak. He held it up, showing it to Naruto. "This scroll contains information on the Akatsuki. It's yours. If you help me."

Naruto looked at the scroll. Insider information on the Akatsuki... Why would he give this up? Wasn't he part of the criminal organization? "And what if I still don't want to help you?"

Itachi sighed. He needed to convince Naruto. "I'll still give it to you. In fact, I'll give it to you now and you can check it."

"Wait!", Naruto ordered him. He crossed his hands in the familiar hand seal for the _Kage Bunshin no jutsu _(2) and a copy of him appeared to his right. "Toss the scroll to my clone."

_Very clever and very careful,_ Itachi thought and tossed the scroll. The clone caught it.

Nothing happened. No trap so far. "Open it", Naruto told the clone.

The Naruto-clone inspected the scroll. He found no seals or anything that stopped him from opening it. He unrolled the paper. It was written in a very neat kanji. _Probably Itachi's, _the Naruto-clone thought and read the information. There was a list of all the members of Akatsuki. Next to the names were some facts like specialization, partner and former village affiliation. The clone finished reading and tossed the scroll to the original Naruto. He caught it and the clone dispelled, which caused Naruto to receive the information.

"I see", the blond said. "But tell me, why do you betray the Akatsuki?"

"I only joined them in order to spy on them."

The boy frowned. He didn't believe him.

"Not everything is as it seems, Naruto. When you are back in Konoha, ask your Hokage for the file on the Uchiha massacre. It will reveal everything." His voice was sober and void of any emotion. Naruto saw his eyes shining sadly, though.

"Before I agree to anything, tell me, Itachi. Why is it so important to you that Sasuke returns to Konoha?", the Jinchuuriki inquired.

Itachi felt hopeful and decided to give him a very honest answer. "You will come to know that the Uchiha clan was not as grand as everyone is made to believe. I am ashamed of what I had to do, but it had to be done. But I couldn't make myself kill Sasuke. My otouto, he was innocent. In order to keep him safe, I took all the blame and left Konoha as a traitor. You won't understand my words until you know the whole truth, but explaining in detail now takes too long."

He ran a hand over his eyes, a very human gesture from an Uchiha. "I thought that I could keep Sasuke safe and make him strong, if I told him that he had to take revenge. But I now realize that I pushed him into darkness and made him lead a life of hatred. Avenging our clan by killing me should have made him a hero. But I miscalculated. I pushed him too far. I took his life away from him."

He paused, his sad, onyx eyes watched Naruto's reaction. He was frowning, thoughtful.

"I was a fool to not see this coming." He shook his head in regret. "I want to correct my past mistakes. You're my last hope, Uzumaki Naruto. Please, help me save my beloved otouto."

The obvious pain on his face finally swayed Naruto. He looked at the scroll, away from Itachi's pleading eyes.

"Saying I helped you. How would you provide me with further information?"

Itachi allowed himself a second of pure hope. Had he convinced him? "The information will reach you. I have my ways, but you can trust me on it. I hope to be able to send a scroll at least once a month. I give you my word", he promised. "Besides, it will not be until several months from now that I actually require your aid."

"Why not now?"

"There are things in Akatsuki I have to take care of. And the time for Orochimaru to switch bodies draws closer. He must already be very weak. I trust my brother enough to not let Orochimaru take over his body. After all, he desires to get revenge on me. He won't give up his body."

"Are you sure about this?", questioned Naruto.

"Yes, absolutely."

The blond boy nodded. He was going over Itachi's words. Could he trust Itachi? He had said that the circumstances behind the Uchiha massacre were not as they seemed. Maybe he was not at fault? But he _had _confessed to murdering everyone. Well, he would find out when he read the mission report Itachi had mentioned; assuming it really existed.

But was he willing to help him? He was thinking about the information Itachi could provide. It would be more than useful. Already the scroll Itachi had given him would prove very useful. They would have a huge advantage, knowing the organization's strategies, strengths and weaknesses. Akatsuki was going after the Bijuus. And that was unfortunately pretty much everything they knew about them. Itachi's information could change everything. Instead of waiting for Akatsuki to make their moves, they could move first and have the upper hand.

Naruto's decision was made. He stored the scroll in her pocket. "I will help you in exchange for information. If I find it to be not enough or incorrect, I won't help you."

Itachi admired how much the boy had changed. He clearly remembered the loud-mouthed, clumsy thirteen-year old brat he had been. But Naruto had grown up. Itachi nodded his head, agreeing to his terms.

"Fine", he said and closed the distance between them. He lifted his right hand, holding it out, waiting for Itachi to take it.

He took it. They stared into each other's eyes, shaking hands, both squeezing lightly, showing that neither of them would back down.

"We have a deal, Uchiha Itachi. But let me remind you that I don't do this for Sasuke. I only do this for the information." His intense blue eyes were cold and hard.

Itachi forced himself to let emotion show in his gaze, as he returned the stare. "Deal", he said. Then he smiled at him. "Thank you, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto nodded and released his hand.

Itachi nodded to him once more in good-bye and jumped away, leaving him alone again in the hot desert.

Naruto shook his head. Had this really just happened? Had he really just agreed to aiding Uchiha Itachi in retrieving Sasuke?

His feet started walking again, carrying him closer to Konoha with every step. Just half an hour ago, he had still not been sure whether returning to Konoha was the right decision. But now, a man he had considered one of his greatest enemies, had unknowingly given him a new purpose.

And suddenly, Naruto knew what he wanted to do in the future. With his new goal in mind and newly-found vigour, he quickened his steps.

He was going back to Konoha. Home? _Maybe. _Time would show.

* * *

><p>(1) <em>Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu: Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.<em>

(2) _Kage Bunshin no jutsu: Shadow Clone Technique. (I think we all know that one)_

* * *

><p><strong>So, Naruto found a new purpose. What will it be? And what is waiting for him back in Konoha? Was returning really the right decision? And how will Konoha react to the changed boy?<strong>

**So many questions! Stay tuned, I can't wait to start writing the next chapter!**

**Fell free to leave me a review ;)**

**Over and out,**

**xXHaneliXx**


	7. Chapter 7

**I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

><p><strong>'He had no idea'<strong>

**Chapter 7**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Now there's no way back from the things you've done<br>I know it's too late to stop the setting sun.  
>You see the shadows in the distant light,<br>And it's never going to be alright  
>And you know, and you know, and you know I'm right.<strong>_

_**And I won't get left behind, when the walls come tumbling in  
>I'll keep climbing, I'll keep climbing<br>The rain's going to follow you wherever you go.  
>The clouds go black and the thunder rolls<br>And I see lightning, and I see lightning.**_

**- 'Silver lining' by Hurts**

* * *

><p>Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu were on guard duty. Again. They seemed to be assigned with watching the gates of Konoha more than any other ninja in the village. While Izumo took pride in this duty, Kotetsu was often found slacking off, too bored to pay much attention to the coming and leaving people.<p>

This evening however, even Kotetsu liked being on guard duty for once. Sometimes it granted you very useful information. They were always the first people to see who entered the village. They needed to ask for names, status and the reason for the visit.

So both chuunin were rather curious about the dark-clad person that approached the huge gates of Konoha. The sun had almost disappeared beyond the horizon and the remaining light was casting shadows everywhere. They were about to close the gates for the night and it was only mere minutes until guard change.

The lonely figure stopped in front of the guard house, obediently waiting for the two guards to grant entrance. Izumo and Kotetsu shared a nervous glance. There was a certain aura around this person. Although they couldn't quite put their finger on what it was exactly... somehow they just knew to better not mess with whoever it was. They stood up from their sitting position. It felt better to face the dark figure on their feet.

"State your name and business, please, sir... um... lady?", Izumo, confused about the person's gender, looked at his partner, seeking help. Kotetsu just shrugged, shaking his head. He had no idea either. The body was hidden under a cloak that made it impossible to tell, if they were dealing with a man or a woman.

The person chuckled softly. A wide hood hid the face and hair from view. It fell into the person's face, leaving the eyes and nose in shadows. The black cloak moved and an elegant hand appeared, to pull away the hood.

"Did you already forget me?" A definitely male voice answered.

The hood fell away to reveal sunny blond hair, that shimmered golden in the light of the small lamp hanging in the guard's station. Ocean blue eyes were fixed on the two chuunin expectantly. A smirk was on the full lips.

"Na-Naruto?", Kotetsu stared. There was no mistaking these whiskered cheeks.

"The one and only", Naruto answered in a neutral tone, no happiness in his words.

"Pheeew", Kotetsu let out the breath he had been holding, swiping a hand over his forehead, "you really scared us there for a moment, Naruto!"

Izumo shot his friend a reproachful look. This was only Naruto! The village's idiot! Whatever they had first assumed, the person in front of them was certainly not posing a danger.

The blond boy scratched his head sheepishly; his grin though, looked forced on the grimacing face.

"What's up with the cloak, Naruto?", Kotetsu wanted to know, eyeing the dark piece of cloth curiously.

Naruto shrugged. He had come to value the cloak while travelling on his own. People tended to stay clear of shady-looking people. It had granted him some kind of privacy on the road. The wide hood also helped a lot in hiding his eye-catching blond hair, providing anonymity.

The two chuuin wrote down his name on the list of people entering Konoha and waved good-bye as the teenager left, immediately jumping on the nearby roof of a house, seemingly headed in the direction of the Hokage tower.

Kotetsu and Izumo followed the retreating figure with thoughtful eyes. They couldn't deny that they initially had been cautious about the dark-clad person. There had undoubtedly been something different about the boy. Although he had grinned at them, the cheeriness that had once surrounded him had been replaced by something else... They weren't able to fathom what it was, though.

"He didn't wear his Konoha forehead protector", Izumo quietly noticed, remembering how Naruto used to wear it on his forehead.

Kotetsu nodded at his friend. He then shook off the feeling of uneasiness. Their shift was over. Once they had closed the gates, all thoughts on Naruto were forgotten.

* * *

><p><em>Konoha.<em> Naruto was back. After three years he was finally stepping foot into the village he had called home for the longest part of his life. His sharp eyes took in the shadows around him as he was roof-jumping towards the Hokage tower. As far as he could see, the village had not changed much. Very few people were on the streets, due to the late hour. But Naruto guessed that Tsunade was still working; the woman's attitude had probably not changed over the time, which meant she still had to stay up late to finish all her paperwork.

In the distance, Naruto saw that Tsunade's face had been added to the Hokage monument. How often had he dreamed of seeing his own face looking back at him from these stones? Uncountable times. Seeing it now, he tried his best to feel anything. He had not returned to become Hokage. That was a goal for another time. Maybe. Right now, he had more important plans to pursue.

* * *

><p>Once again, Tsunade was in her office after dark. As much as she hated the long hours she spent in this room, the latest development had changed her opinion on this.<p>

The blonde Hokage was giggling like a schoolgirl. She was sitting on the large chair behind her huge desk – or rather she was sitting on Jiraiya's lap, while Jiraiya was sitting on the chair. Her legs were swinging joyfully back and forth – like a schoolgirl indeed – while Jiraiya's lips were trailing kisses along her neck, down to her shoulder. Without putting any effort into her pushes, she tried to make the white-haired man stop.

"Not in the office, Jiraiya!", she giggled a protest, but couldn't suppress a low moan as Jiraiya nibbled on her earlobe. He had soon discovered that this was one of her more sensitive areas.

Too absorbed in each other and their playful foreplay, they both jerked at the sound of someone clearing his throat rather forcefully.

Their heads snapped around, facing the window.

There, balancing in a crouching position on the windowsill, was Naruto – a red-faced, embarrassed-looking Naruto. But still – _Naruto_!

"Naruto!" With a joyous shriek, Tsunade pealed herself off Jiraiya and had closed the distance between her and the missing boy in two big steps. She pulled the boy off the windowsill and into her arms; against the huge bust that only seconds ago had received a thorough treatment by Jiraiya.

Naruto returned the eager hug. He felt warm at Tsunade's way of openly showing him that she had missed him.

Finally Tsunade released her gaki and Naruto was able to catch a good look of a reasonably disgruntled Jiraiya, who seemed to be quite disappointed that Naruto had interrupted. "Your timing sucks, brat", he muttered, but a fond smile lit up his face at the sight of his returned student.

Naruto smiled back. He had not realized that he had missed the flamboyant man.

"Welcome back, Naruto!", Tsunade said. Angrily, she added, "What took you so damn long, gaki?"

Then, without warning, her fist shot out to bump the boy on the head to make her anger known, like she used to. However, this time, her fist didn't connect with her aim. Instead, Tsunade found her wrist caught in a death grip.

Surprised, Tsunade followed the line of Naruto's extended arm, which had stopped her own from hitting the boy, to the blond's face. Tsunade's breath hitched for a second at the expression in Naruto's eyes. But it was gone in an instant. Still, Tsunade would definitely refrain from hitting the boy in the future.

Naruto, realizing that he had acted without thinking of who was standing in front of him, flashed a grin at the astounded Hokage. "Huh, sorry, baa-chan. New habit." He rubbed his neck sheepishly. Trying to break the tension he had unintentionally created, he quickly added, "So, I see that Ero-sennin finally confessed to you, huh?"

Tsunade only stared at the boy as he gave a perfect imitation of Jiraiya's typical suggestive brow-wiggling. A vein appeared on the Fifth's head. Naruto suggestively wiggling his eyebrows like Jiraiya was not amusing her. She just hoped that Jiraiya hadn't corrupted her innocent son-figure in any other way.

Jiraiya chose that moment to interfere and got up from the chair he was still sitting in. He strolled over to the two and was about to hug his new lover around the waist from behind, when a warning glare from Tsunade made him pull his hands back to his side. Instead, he went over to ruffle Naruto's hair.

He regarded him for a moment, then placed a hand affectionately on his shoulder. "You're back. So I assume, you found what you were looking for?" His face was serious. Had the boy found himself again? Had he found answers to all his questions? Or at least did he finally know what he was planning for the future?

Naruto returned his questioning but comforting eyes. He saw genuine concern for him in Jiraiya's gaze. For the second time that evening, a warm feeling was creeping up inside of him. Maybe coming back to Konoha had been the right decision after all? On the other hand, these two people had always supported him, even before he had left. He didn't know yet how the rest of Konoha was going to react to his return.

"Yes", Naruto finally replied, "I think I did."

Tsunade was watching the two; master and student. She had a vague idea of what this silent conversation was about, but she didn't interrupt them. Both obviously needed the moment. It also gave her the opportunity to take a closer look at the person he considered a son.

Naruto's hair had grown a little and due to the fact that the boy wasn't wearing the Konoha forehead protector like he used to, his bangs were falling in his eyes, framing his handsome face. It made him look a little older, somehow more mature. The teenager unknowingly bore a huge resemblance to his father. The Hokage's hazel eyes took in Naruto's clothes. His whole body was covered by a loose-fitting black cloak, which seemed to have a wide hood.

She had to stop her assessment of the young man, as she saw Jiraiya heading over to her desk. To her irritation, the Sannin quickly stole the sake bottle stashed in her secret drawer and filled three glasses with the intoxicating liquid. Before she knew it, a glassed was shoved in her hand and she only watched in quiet amazement as both Jiraiya and Naruto downed their glasses in one go.

She dead-panned and the vein started twitching again on her forehead. And here Tsunade had been hoping that Jiraiya had not corrupted her poor boy. Silently fuming, she emptied her glass in a well-trained motion.

The three settled on the chairs around Tsunade's desk, Jiraiya already refilling their glasses.

"So, gaki, I suppose you're here to stay?", Tsunade broke the sake-filled silence.

"Yes", Naruto answered, "I have a lot to do."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow in question.

Naruto nodded and took off the loose cloak to reveal the clothes underneath.

Tsunade, laying eyes on his outfit, choked on her sake, which didn't go unnoticed by Jiraiya.

Jiraiya chuckled, apparently amused. "I told you he grew up, Tsunade-hime." A self-satisfied smirk was on his strong features.

"Hehe", Naruto chuckled nervously. His clothes had changed again. The outfit he was currently wearing had been given to him by Gaara and a little help from Temari. Thanks to Naruto and Gaara's passionate spars, Naruto's clothes had disintegrated into very many pieces. Temari had deemed them no longer wearable. Claiming Naruto looked way too plain anyway, she had changed his outfit to her liking. Naruto had gulped the first time he had seen himself in a mirror. Was that guy really him? Had he changed so much? The black shinobi pants he was now wearing, were hanging low on his hips. The dark tank top clung to his body like a second skin, showing his well-defined muscles through the cloth. His torso was well-trained with now broad shoulders and nicely developed pectorals. Over the tank top he wore a grey vest that looked almost like the dark green flak jacket of chuunin. His hands were still protected by the fingerless black gloves.

Tsunade was still staring. She had expected Naruto to change. But this new outfit was so... well, kind of hot, she had to admit. She suppressed a blush as she imagined how his strong biceps would feel. The boy that had left three years ago had grown into a very handsome young man.

Naruto eyed Tsunade's reaction. Naruto knew that his new outfit was totally different from three years ago. But _he_ was totally different from three years ago, too. While he had been hiding behind the orange jumpsuit during his childhood, he now felt that he no longer needed to do so. It had nothing to do with vanity – although he had grown into an exceptionally handsome young man and the fierce training had resulted in him having a well-built physique.

Tsunade eventually stopped staring and concentrated on what Naruto was doing. The boy was taking a scroll from his back pouch. He unrolled the scroll; the seal in the middle of the paper indicated that it was a storing scroll. Naruto made a single hand sign and unsealed another scroll. Again, he unrolled the paper and in the middle of this paper was another seal. This one was more intricate, though. The blond bit his thumb and smeared some blood on the seal. Whatever was sealed in this scroll, Tsunade was sure that it was something important; what else would you use a blood seal for.

Naruto summoned yet another scroll. This one was black on the outside, with red markings. Naruto held it up for Jiraiya and Tsunade to see. "Before I tell you what this is, I need you, Tsunade, to send out your ANBU and seal the room."

It turned out that Tsunade had sent away her ANBU already some time ago and Naruto remembered the private scene he had stumbled upon. Surely no ANBU wanted to watch the two old Sannin exploring their new-found love for each other.

Once the office was sound-proof, Tsunade and Jiraiya looked at the sixteen-year old in front of them expectantly. The blond held up the scroll and tossed it on the desk between them. Tsunade grabbed it and Jiraiya moved closer to her, reading the content of the scroll from over her shoulder.

Their eyes skimmed the scroll and Tsunade finally looked up, a puzzled look on her face. "Where did you get this, Naruto?"

It was the scroll containing the information on the Akatsuki. The scroll Itachi had given him. Naruto had pondered about telling them of the scroll's origin for the last two days. On one hand, he wanted to be honest with them, but on the other hand, he knew that they would try to convince him that trusting Itachi was a bad idea. And maybe it was a bad idea, but he had made a deal with him and somehow Naruto knew that he could trust Itachi. As stupid as this was sounding even to himself, the pain and love that had showed in Itachi's eyes while talking about Sasuke had been too real. No one could possibly fake that. And Naruto still had to confirm what the Uchiha had said about everything not being as it seemed about the Uchiha massacre. He still needed to find out what this was about. Until he had either a confirmation of him telling the truth or him lying, he would not reveal the origin of the information.

"I can't tell you right now-", he held up a hand, telling the others to shut up, as both Sannin opened their mouths to voice their objection. "I can't tell you yet", he repeated with a look that told them he really wouldn't tell them now, "but I promise I'll eventually tell you. I just need to confirm certain facts first. This information, though, is reliable."

Jiraiya trusted Naruto enough not to question his opinion. He was probably the person who knew him best right now. If Naruto judged the information to be reliable, he would accept it. After all, he'd trust him with his life. However, he couldn't help but marvel at how easily Naruto had just shut the two seasoned shinobi up with a single gesture of a hand. He chuckled inwardly as he realized that he had not even tried to question Naruto's authority in this situation. Taking control seemed to come natural to the boy. _So much like your father_, Jiraiya thought, at the same time pained and yet amazed.

Naruto's voice was steady and serious as he explained what he was planning to do. _Great plans indeed, _Jiraiya thought, while listening. He had hoped that his godson would find back to himself. And he was sure that to some extent he had, but still not entirely. The smiles Naruto gave them did not yet reach his eyes each time and he also seemed to be too tense.

Naruto finished his explanation – or rather demand – and Tsunade found herself gaping at the boy in front of her. She quickly closed her mouth and put two fingers under her chin in her favourite thinking-pose. Naruto's plans were way too dangerous for her liking. It would be very difficult to convince the council to approve of this. Although Tsunade was the Hokage, the council still held enough power to forbid this. She might be responsible for assigning missions, but if the council disagreed with for example the shinobi she had chosen for a certain mission, it was easy for them to oppose her and have someone else go instead. Considering that the council kept an especially close eye on the demon container, Naruto's plans were even more likely to be opposed by them. Maybe she could somehow find a way to stop them from interfering? She needed to be the only one to be able to assign missions to Naruto... The figurative light bulb lit up in her head. The only shinobi in Konoha she had absolute power over, were the ANBU. With exception of Root, which was supposedly eliminated, all ANBU members primarily reported to the Hokage. The council had almost no say in missions concerning the Hokage's personal forces. And with that, Tsunade had found a nice solution. It was actually a really good one, which only helped Naruto's plans.

Tsunade gave Naruto a conspiratorial smile. "Prepare yourself to become an ANBU, gaki."

* * *

><p><strong>Two days later:<strong>

"Did you hear?", Ino whispered, leaning over the table, shielding her mouth with one hand from listening ears.

"Hear what?", Chouji prompted, while chewing on a piece of meat.

The old Team Ten had met for dinner in their traditional barbecue restaurant. Team Ten did no longer exist, all of the three were now pursuing different paths. Ino was apprenticing under her father, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Morino Ibiki in the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Unit. Chouji was on active duty in a team with two other chuunin and a jounin captain. Shikamaru was mostly avoiding any kind of troublesome work, but had accepted Tsunade's demand to help with planning the next chuunin exams. As they seldom found the time to see each other in this constellation, they often made appointments for dinner. Their old sensei Sarutobi Asuma joined them most of the times, but today the jounin was on a mission.

"I heard two of our customers talk about it today", Ino stated mysteriously. The bleach-blonde still helped out at the family-owned Yamanaka flower shop, whenever her working hours allowed it. Thanks to talkative customers, Ino had a steady income of gossip.

"About what?", Chouji asked again. The boys knew that Ino loved it when they appeared to be interested in her latest piece of information. So they played along, wondering what dirty little secret they'd find out this time.

Ino grinned behind her hand. " This one's really good! I still can't believe it myself! And I'm also a bit mad at him for not telling us." She frowned.

The boys let out a simultaneous sigh. Ino just loved to spread her gossip. Before she could get angry about their lack of real interest, Chouji took pity on the blonde and asked again, "What is it, Ino? I'm _so_ curious." Next to the Akimichi, Shikamaru was rolling his eyes at his friend's poor acting skills.

Ino, either ignoring the poor attempt to please her or just not realizing it, gave a little squeal and leaned even closer, almost burning her bust on the barbecue. "Okay, listen! There were these two women in the shop today. One of them was buying red roses and the other was asking about those blue flowers we had last week and she –"

"Ino!", Shikamaru suddenly barked, "just get to the point!" The Nara was usually the last, who would willingly ask her to tell him someone else's secrets, but this was just getting annoying. Whatever it was, Ino was obviously excited about it. She was making quite the fuss about this.

"Oh, Shikamaru, I had no idea that you were so interested!", she said sarcastically, a little annoyed about how he had interrupted her explanation that had only slightly drifted off topic. "But if you really want to know it so badly, I'll just tell you!"

She gave both of the boys a pointed look and then revealed the 'big secret'. "Naruto is back."

Two pairs of eyes stared at her. Then Chouji shrugged, chewing his food and silently helped himself to another piece of meat. "So when did he come back?", he asked, obviously unfazed. He thought it had been only a matter of time until the loud-mouthed blond returned. That didn't mean he didn't care for his return, he just didn't understand why Ino was being so secretive about it.

Shikamaru was squinting his intelligent eyes at Ino, not feeling as indifferent about this as his best friend did. "Are you sure, Ino?"

"Yes, at least that's what the women said", she explained, "And why would they lie about it, right?"

_Yes,_ the genius mused, _why would anyone lie about this?_ He saw no reason for them to spread a rumour such as this. Shikamaru had sensed how the village had been strangely peaceful for the last three years; how the civilians had whispered about the 'demon being finally gone'. He had not yet concluded what they had meant, but it was definitely related to Naruto and his absence.

Considering how the village had reacted to Naruto's departure, he couldn't help but wonder why the people were so restrained about his return. After all, Naruto was the loudest and most obnoxious ninja in Konoha. Wouldn't there have been some kind of uproar? Surely, his orange jumpsuit was rather flashy and if he had really returned, wouldn't he have seen him already?

Before Shikamaru knew it, they had paid their bill and Chouji was offering to walk Ino home. Shikamaru waved a distracted good-bye and headed in the opposite direction. There was a very troublesome person, who would know for sure, if Naruto was back.

* * *

><p>"So you heard it, huh?", the grey-haired jounin guessed, giving Shikamaru a single-eyed look.<p>

The Nara nodded at the man, that was probably just as lazy as the boy himself. "When did he return?"

Kakashi gave the chuunin, that had appeared on his doorstep some minutes ago, his famous eye-smile. "Oh, Shikamaru, the question should be 'when _will_ Naruto return again'?"

A frown appeared on the Nara's irritated face. "So he is _not_ back?" He had thought so; the women in Ino's parents' flower shop had been wrong.

"Well", Kakashi said, acting like his usual aloof self, "he _was_ back. But he left again."

Shikamaru intently gazed at the jounin. Was Naruto's former sensei trying to make fun of him? But for what reason? "When did he leave again? And _why_?" His irritation was growing with each word. It was just too troublesome to talk to this man.

Kakashi gave him another eye-smile. "Oh, Naruto returned the day before yesterday", he stated casually, "and he left again. Yesterday", he added, like it was no big deal.

The Nara heir's brain was trying to make sense of the situation. If what the jounin told him was correct, then it was no surprise that Naruto's return had not caused a scandal. No one had probably seen him at all in the mere hours he had spent in Konoha. But how did the rumour of his return spread? Maybe the guards had seen him as he had entered the village? Of course he would've been questioned at the gates before being allowed into Konoha. Mentally nodding to himself at his conclusion, Shikamaru concentrated on Kakashi again.

"So, you say Naruto only returned to leave again? Why would he do that?" Shikamaru saw no sense behind his actions; but they were talking about Naruto after all; with him, almost anything was possible. And Kakashi seemed rather unbothered by Naruto's very short visit after three full years. But had he ever seen the jounin being actually bothered by anything?

"He left on personal business", Kakashi said, not revealing the boy's reasons.

Automatically, Shikamaru's over-sized brain began working again. Personal business could mean a lot. Kakashi's answer wasn't helpful. His thoughts were interrupted, as the jounin's free eye focused on him. The eye-smile faded and a serious look replaced it.

"Why are you asking, Shikamaru?", the jounin wanted to know.

Well, Shikamaru guessed he was just curious – wait! Shikamaru and _curious_? _Troublesome._ Being curious was not at all like him. _That's something new._ But thinking back, he remembered how Naruto had had this effect on him before already. He had been very curious after the incident in the alleyway. After Naruto had been beaten. He had even paid a visit to the Hokage to ask about it. _How troublesome,_ he realized. What was it about Naruto that made him act so out of character?

Remembering Kakashi's question, he answered. "It's very bothersome, but there are a few things I want to ask him." _About why people refer to him as 'demon' and why the villagers hate him so much, _he added silently in his mind.

The grey-haired man's gaze was piercing him, trying to read the Nara's irritated face. _The kid is too clever for his own good,_ Kakashi thought. He had the suspicion that Shikamaru was very close to discovering Naruto's secret. If any of Naruto's former class mates would find out about the Kyuubi on their own, it would be Shikamaru. With his intelligence and perceiving nature, it was actually a wonder that he hadn't picked up on it yet.

"Tell me, Shikamaru, why do you care about Naruto so much?", the jounin wanted to know, his single eye still regarding the chuunin coolly.

Unknowingly, Shikamaru had been asked the almost exact question three years ago in Tsunade's office. After asking all the questions about Naruto being beaten, Jiraiya had asked the Nara why he was worried about Naruto. And unknowingly, he now gave the almost exact answer. Shrugging lazily, he said, "Why wouldn't I care about him? I consider him a good friend of mine."

The pineapple-haired boy thought he saw a look of appreciation flash through Kakashi's single dark eye, but it was gone too soon to be sure of it. Kakashi's scrutinizing gaze vanished and the famous eye-smile was back in place. "I'm glad you say that", he smiled.

Knowing he would get nothing more than more vague answers from the jounin, Shikamaru nodded his head in good-bye and went to the door of Kakashi's apartment. He was about to close the door behind him and leave, when he heard the man speak up again.

"Naruto will be back in four weeks."

Shikamaru met the man's eye, nodding in thanks at the information and left.

Kakashi watched the boy leave his apartment. He kept staring at the closed door for several minutes. Naruto had paid him a visit right after he had talked to Tsunade and Jiraiya about his plans for the future. Kakashi had been more than glad to see the boy in one piece. He had been worried about his former student. While Konoha didn't know that the Sannin had returned without the boy already six months before, Tsunade and Jiraiya had told Kakashi. He had been sad to hear about Naruto's confused state of mind. And seeing him last night, he had seen the changes in the boy. Naruto had spent the night sleeping on his couch, because he didn't want to sleep in his own apartment yet. Tsunade had told him that he'd leave again the next morning, so cleaning his apartment was only a waste of time.

Naruto had come back with plans that were dangerous, to say the least. But Kakashi knew that if anyone could do this, it was Naruto. However, to go through with his plans, he needed to leave again; but Tsunade had limited the time to four weeks. Four weeks of training. Again? Yes, again. While Kakashi didn't know yet how strong the blond had become during his absence, he still needed special kind of training. Tsunade wanted to make him an ANBU; and ANBU needed to know more than the average jounin. So they had gotten Naruto yet another sensei.

A sensei with the name of Mitarashi Anko. Kakashi thought the young woman was a good choice to introduce Naruto to the ANBU. In her early years, Anko had been the only student of Orochimaru. But after Orochimaru had branded her with the first version of his Cursed Seal of Heaven, she had returned to the Konoha. To some degree, the villagers' hatred towards Anko had been as fierce as towards Naruto. Both knew how it felt to be despised, to receive hateful glares and to be the pariah. With time, the villagers had learned to accept Anko again, and the young woman felt only slight distrust directed at her at times. As Anko was an ANBU, Tsunade had deemed it a good pairing. And knowing Naruto and Anko, Tsunade had probably foreseen that it would be good for both of them to be around the other. Anko would also be Naruto's first female sensei; maybe the blond could learn more from her than battle tactics, ANBU strategies and team leadership.

Although Kakashi had approved of the training, he also knew that Anko was a very strict and – in his opinion – more than mildly insane sensei. Still, Anko was one of the most respected jounin in Konoha and Naruto could learn a lot from the purple-haired woman. Even if she was insane. But people had said similar things about Naruto. A good match indeed.

* * *

><p>One week after Naruto had left Konoha once again to train under Anko, Tsunade received a scroll delivered to her by one of Naruto's toad summons. Once again, it was already late in the evening and once again, there was still light in Tsunade's office. Sighing at the circumstances in which she found herself too often these days, she unrolled the scroll after pressing her bleeding thumb on the seal that reacted exclusively to Tsunade's blood. Trying her best to decipher Naruto's incredibly bad handwriting, she skimmed the page.<p>

Tsunade had expected this scroll. Naruto's plans depended on him having a very reliable team of most capable shinobi. The Hokage had given Naruto permission to choose freely from all shinobi in Konoha. This decision must not be made rashly. Naruto's – and probably even Konoha's – future depended on it.

The scroll contained a list of the three people Naruto had chosen as his future team mates. Next to the three names were short explanations for why he had chosen the named person. The explanations showed her that the boy had seriously thought about this decision. Maybe he had even asked Kakashi's opinion on it before he had left.

Tsunade couldn't suppress an appreciative smile. She remembered the three people on that list very well. She highly approved of Naruto's choice.

And at least one of them was in for a very troublesome surprise.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading everyone! :)<strong>

**Sorry that there was no Sasuke in this chap. He will come up in the next one again! And Jiraiya confessed to Tsunade! Yay, I think they really belong together!**

**Leave me a review ;) and again, if you have the time, I'm grateful for some constructive criticism!**

**Over and out,**

**xXHaneliXx**


	8. Chapter 8

**I don't own Naruto!**

* * *

><p><strong>'He had no idea'<strong>

**Chapter 8**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Come gather 'round people<br>Wherever you roam  
>And admit that the waters<br>Around you have grown  
>And accept it that soon<br>You'll be drenched to the bone  
>If your time to you<br>Is worth savin'  
>Then you better start swimmin'<br>Or you'll sink like a stone  
>For the times they are a-changin'.<em> **

**- 'The Times They Are A-Changing' by Bob Dylan**

* * *

><p>"The time to transfer bodies is close, Sasuke-kun", the snake Sannin's voice sounded exhausted, as if it cost him a lot of energy to even speak. "Kukuku", he chuckled weakly, "I will finally possess the perfect body."<p>

A fit of coughing shook Orochimaru's sick body. Droplets of spit flew from his mouth, spraying his blanket and hands. His head lolled back against the headboard of the large bed he was half lying, half sitting in. The amber snake-like eyes closed limply.

Sasuke stared at his sensei with a look of pure revulsion and contempt on his handsome face.

Orochimaru looked beyond pathetic. Sasuke couldn't believe the man's words. Was that weakling really still thinking he'd give his body to a man that was nothing but a shadow of his former self? Sasuke couldn't deny that Orochimaru had taught him everything he knew and that he had been a formidable master. The raven truly believed that he would never have acquired the same level of skill and power, if he had stayed in Konoha. Training under the legendary Sannin had brought him closer to reaching his goal of killing Itachi as ever before. Aside from that, there was nothing left to learn from him.

Sasuke had the strong feeling that he had surpassed his teacher. Looking down at the form of the weakened man, a feeling of superiority filled him. Right now, Orochimaru was inferior to Sasuke; he was sure of that. They hadn't sparred in weeks, because of Orochimaru's decreasing health, but Sasuke knew that in his worn-out state the Sannin was no match for him and his Sharingan.

How could Orochimaru still think that he had anything to offer to Sasuke? The voice of doubt that had accompanied the boy since his first year in Otogakure, was cheering him on. This voice of doubt had become stronger inside of him with each passing day. Giving his body to a man that had nothing left to offer to Sasuke but certain death and possession, was out of the question.

Had he ever honestly intended to let himself be _killed_ in order to get power? He realized that this whole idea had lacked logic from the very start. _Maybe Naruto was right..._ But no, all thoughts on Naruto had been banned from his mind since the day Itachi had caught him in the genjutsu, showing him the boy dying in his arms. The picture of him closing his eyes forever and telling him that he hated him had haunted Sasuke for months afterwards. His dreams had been filled with his dimming blue eyes, that held so much accusation and hatred, directed at him. It had taken all of his willpower to push those images to the farthest corner of his mind. Why was he thinking about him again now? Was it because he was going through a moment of uncertainty? Because he saw that the boy had been right in telling him that handing over his body was not the right solution? So maybe he had been right... But this didn't change anything. And it was not like he'd ever get the chance to admit it to him anyway. Sasuke shook his head to dispel all thoughts on Naruto; leaving him a bit irritated.

Killing Itachi and getting revenge was his major goal, always had been. Maybe he actually did consider giving up his body in exchange for power at one point. But he held all the power he needed in his own hands now. He was no longer dependent on Orochimaru. _Maybe you never depended on him in the first place? _There it was again! The voice of doubt... Annoyingly clear in Sasuke's head. Would he ever get rid of it?

Turning his head away from the man on the bed, Sasuke quietly left the room. Kabuto was already preparing Orochimaru's current body for the transfer and it was only a matter of days, maybe hours even, until Kabuto would ask Sasuke to get prepared, too.

He wouldn't let that happen. He had come to a decision. Sasuke knew what he had to do. And he had probably less than twenty-four hours to do so.

* * *

><p>Haruno Sakura was sorting through the piles of paper on her master's desk. To the neat pink-haired girl it was a miracle how Tsunade managed to make such a mess all the time. Today, it seemed as if the chaos was even more messier than usual... Maybe it had something to do with Tsunade's new lover, she mused, but very quickly shook her head to forget about the image of Tsunade and Jiraiya using the desk for anything else than paperwork.<p>

It was Sakura's third year as Tsunade's apprentice and although Tsunade openly disliked her for what she had done to Naruto, the Hokage was a fair master and whatever grudge she was holding against her pupil, she tried her best to suppress it during lessons. At first, Sakura had been very apprehensive of the violent Hokage. She didn't know why one of The Legendary Sannin would choose a girl like her, from a civilian family, as her personal apprentice. Moreover, she knew that the blonde barely tolerated her since Sakura's merciless denunciation of Naruto.

It was only thanks to Kakashi that Sakura had gotten this chance and she was more than grateful to her former sensei, even if said man avoided her for the same reasons Tsunade despised her, too. Apparently, the grey-haired man had recommended Sakura and her skills in chakra control. Tsunade had generously granted the pinkette to be tested, assuming that Sakura wouldn't meet her requirements. To Tsunade's dismay – she just couldn't stand the girl – Sakura had proven to have a talent for medical jutsu and her vast book knowledge was helpful as well. Even if she lacked physical and combat skills, Tsunade had admitted that the girl had potential and taken her on as an apprentice. During the time with her, Tsunade had also seen how Sakura tried her best to redeem herself in Tsunade's eyes. She was a very hard-working pupil and Tsunade approved of her fierce dedication.

Sakura saw that her master's secret stash of sake had been emptied once again and made a mental note to refill it. Satisfied with the re-established order on the Hokage's desk, she was about to leave the office, when Tsunade entered through the door, followed by a very bored looking Nara.

"Sakura", the blonde barked, "please leave and I don't want to be bothered for the next half an hour or so."

Surprised about the abrupt dismissal, Sakura shot a curious glance at Shikamaru, silently wondering what could be so important that Tsunade didn't want Sakura to hear it. Being the Hokage's apprentice had granted her useful insight into the daily workings of the village and the duties and responsibilities of being Hokage. Tsunade didn't mind her being in the room when she assigned missions or received messengers from other countries. So to not displease her master, Sakura left with a quick, "Yes, Tsunade-shishou!", and shut the door behind her.

* * *

><p>Tsunade regarded the chuunin in front of her, Nara Shikamaru. Once again, the lazy genius was in her office. Over the last weeks he had been a great help in organizing the next chuunin exams and successfully tightening the relationships between Konoha and Suna. She was annoyed about the fact that she would have to do without him in the future, but the genius was needed for more important things.<p>

Two 'poofs' and the tell-tale white smoke announced the arrival of the other two persons she had been waiting for. The smoke cleared and revealed two ANBU members. Both were kneeling on one knee in front of her desk, heads bowed, awaiting orders like every obedient ANBU. "Hokage-sama", the greeted with one voice.

"At ease", Tsunade ordered and the two shinobi stood up straight, standing next to Shikamaru.

Both of them wore the traditional black and grey ANBU uniform, consisting of the metal armour and arm guards. The taller of the two wore a Tiger mask. His long black-brown hair reached the middle of his back. The second man had shaggy brown hair and a Bear mask hid his face.

Although the uniforms and the masks were supposed to assure the ANBU's anonymity, Shikamaru had the sneaking suspicion that he knew the two males next to him. After all, he had grown up with them.

"Tiger, Bear, remove your masks", Tsunade ordered again and without hesitation, the two revealed their faces. Indeed, Shikamaru knew the two, who were now nodding at him in greeting. While in their uniforms and masked, they were not allowed to reveal their identity by small things such as acknowledging an old friend.

"Nara Shikamaru, Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Neji", the Hokage addressed the three assembled men. "There are several things I want to discuss with you." A frown appeared on her face. Rethinking, she corrected herself, "In fact, there's no room for discussion, as everything has already been decided. So I'll just tell you."

Wondering where this was going, the three expectantly looked at their Hokage.

"The three of you will form a team. Effective from now on." No objections followed her words, but thanks to his intelligence, Shikamaru was quick to realize that in order for the three to form a team, either Neji and Kiba needed to be demoted to normal jounin or Shikamaru would be promoted to ANBU. Shikamaru had the uneasy feeling that whatever came next, would be very troublesome for him.

The irritation must've shown on his bored face, because Tsunade shot him a look, a rather evil grin spreading over her face. "I see, you have already realized what's going to happen next, Nara. The time for being lazy is over. You are hereby promoted to the rank of jounin and also the newest ANBU member." Sounding very sarcastic, she added, "Congratulations are in order, I guess."

Shikamaru sighed, rolling his eyes. "How troublesome."

Neji gave him a comforting smile. Kiba was a little more enthusiastic. Clapping him on the back and grinning at his old friend from the academy, he said, "Welcome, man!", which earned him another muttered 'troublesome' from Shikamaru.

Neji was silently watching the Hokage. He was wondering about the sudden changes. He was already assigned to a team and he had hoped to be promoted to ANBU captain within the next months and get his own team. He had never really worked with either Kiba or Shikamaru. The only time they had been on a mission together had been the Sasuke retrieval mission, which had ended rather disastrously. Besides, he could see why he would be paired with Kiba, as both were good for reconnaissance and tracking missions, but Shikamaru with his intelligence and outstanding strategical planning skills, was more suited for an assault or hunting team. But of course there were also teams that were put together for certain purposes and consisted of shinobi especially chosen for a single mission. Maybe this was the case and they would be send out together only once?

Tsunade spoke up again, interrupting Neji's train of thoughts. "You are all probably wondering, why I put you on a team together", she stopped at the confused look on the Inuzuka's face; apparently, not all of them were wondering, "but your new captain specifically requested each of you."

At this new information, all three of them shared a curious glance. Someone had _requested_ them?

"And who is this captain, Hokage-sama?", Kiba demanded to know. Since he had joined ANBU, he had become more level-headed and composed, but at times he returned to being impulsive, loud and boastful.

Tsunade shot him a glare, telling him to shut up. "You will meet your new captain in five weeks. Until then, I will not reveal this person's identity." This answer was quite mysterious, Shikamaru thought. Why wouldn't their captain want them to know who he was? _Bothersome._

"For the following five weeks, you will work together as a team, getting to know each other. The missions you will be doing in the future are nothing like you have done before." She shot Kiba another glare, as he was about to voice the questions he undoubtedly had. "This is as much as I can say for now. This must sound very confusing to you, but rest assured that everything will be revealed in five weeks."

Tsunade paused, gazing at the young men in front of her. "Besides training together, your new captain has certain tasks for each of you." At this, the three shared another glance. Whoever their new captain was, he – or she? – certainly knew what he wanted.

"Hyuuga, for the next five weeks, you will spend your afternoons with me", the Hokage declared. A look of surprise crossed of Neji's face. "I will train you in medical ninjutsu. Considering your profound knowledge of the human body and excellent chakra control, due to the gentle fist style of your clan, it won't be too difficult for you to learn. In fact, there are many talented medical nins from the Hyuuga clan. The Byakugan will help you immensely. We will start tomorrow, be prepared."

Neji frowned a little at this new development. He had never really thought of becoming a medical nin. However, he was not averse to the idea. He knew that the Byakugan would grant him an advantage over 'regular' medic nins, as he could see 'inside' of the body. Having mastered the juken taijutsu style of his family in his early years, his chakra control was indeed above average. Deciding that he had no objections to train under the Hokage, the frown on his elegant face disappeared.

"Inuzuka", Tsunade addressed the boy with the wild appearance, "I don't see how you will be able to learn this in only five weeks, considering your limited intelligence –", this earned her an indignant sputter from Kiba and a smirk from Neji, "– but you will train under Yamanaka Inoichi, who will teach you some sensory type techniques. As you aren't a sensor type, the techniques won't be as effectual, but you'll still be able to do them. Your enhanced sense of smell and hearing will also aid you in this. It's going to nicely complement your tracking skills."

Kiba didn't have any knowledge about sensory type techniques, he was only aware that they were really helpful in locating other shinobi by sensing their chakra. He didn't know if this would prove useful, but he would learn it. Tsunade had unknowingly challenged him. Maybe he wasn't a prodigy such as Neji or a genius like Shikamaru, but he would show her! Questioning his intelligence! Ts! Kiba now definitely had the ambition to prove her wrong. He'd learn the techniques and prove to Tsunade and his mysterious new captain that an Inuzuka was unfailing and could do just as good as anyone else!

Seeing the ambition light up in Kiba's eyes, Tsunade knew she had succeeded in appealing to his huge ego.

With a look at Shikamaru, she went on. "Nara, as you're the only one that hasn't yet received ANBU training, you will need to catch up on everything in the next five weeks. While you train with your new team mates in the mornings, you will spend the afternoons training with Hatake Kakashi. I know that the two of you already know each other and considering that Kakashi is a seasoned ANBU, you'll be able to learn a lot from him." An evil smirk graced the Hokage's lips, as she added, "Expect your carefree life to be over from now on, Nara. There is no time to be lazy any more."

"How troublesome", Shikamaru sighed for the second time. Training under Kakashi? While Shikamaru respected the man very much, he also knew that the aloof jounin was probably as lazy as himself. Or would his attitude change? Kakashi wasn't the most respected jounin in Konoha for nothing.

"Hyuuga, Inuzuka, accompany him to ANBU headquarters. I've already arranged for him to get a room. You", the Hokage said, addressing Shikamaru, "will also get your uniform and ANBU tattoo today. Your respective new senseis, including me, will start working with each of you tomorrow."

The blonde's eyes focused on each of the young men for a moment. "Before I dismiss you, I have to remind you that you will not speak a word of this to anyone else."

The three gave a collective "Yes, Hokage-sama!", and a curt nod.

They left the office. The Hokage leaned back in her chair. She had given the orders. The three had taken the news very well. She had expected the Inuzuka to cause trouble about being taken from his current team, but no one had questioned the changes. Even the Nara with his uncanny intelligence had not objected. It would probably have been too troublesome. However, Tsunade came to the conclusion that the three plus their new captain would form a fine team. Once said captain came back from training, all further plans would be put into action.

* * *

><p>Four weeks later, Tsunade was found in her office, awaiting the return of a two-men team, she had sent out the previous month. For once, it was not yet dark outside, but an early afternoon sun shone through the large windows of the room. As if on cue, said team appeared in front of her desk with a 'poof'. Tsunade's head shot up, meeting the masked faces of two of her ANBU.<p>

The blonde woman smirked happily when she saw the masks. The shorter of the two was wearing a Snake mask, the taller, male one a clean, white mask, which marked him as a new member of the ANBU. New recruits wore white masks until after their first mission, after which an animal mask fitting the ANBU's personality was chosen. _(1)_

"Hokage-sama." Both ANBU stood at attention, waiting for their leader to either allow them to move or to give orders.

"Remove your masks", Tsunade said and in unison, both shinobi took off the masks.

The removed Snake mask revealed the face of Mitarashi Anko. Her pupil-less, light brown eyes sparkled with mischief, which reminded Tsunade very much of Naruto's eyes back before the incident with Sasuke. Anko's messy purple hair was tied back in a spiky pony-tail and her bangs fell into her eyes, almost completely hiding the Konoha forehead protector around her head. Her usual revealing outfit had been replaced by the standard ANBU uniform, under which she wore her mesh body suit.

The other person's face was tan and three whisker marks adorned both cheeks. An amused smirk was on the soft lips, as Naruto greeted, "Ne, baa-chan, how do I look?" The young man spread his arms playfully, showing off his new ANBU uniform.

Tsunade grinned at Naruto's seemingly good mood. Maybe pairing him with Anko had been a good idea. To humour the blond, she let her hazel eyes roam over Naruto's new attire. The grey and black ANBU uniform fit him perfectly and he looked older than his sixteen years. The metal breast plate hugged his strong torso nicely. Underneath the breast plate, he wore a black sleeveless shirt, that showed off the new ANBU tattoo on his left biceps. To Tsunade's surprise there was a wide hood attached to his shirt at the neck.

"Why the hood, gaki?", Tsunade wondered aloud.

"Oh", the blond said and reached up with his hand, fiddling the fabric of the hood. He pulled it over his head and immediately his hair was completely concealed from sight, as well as his blue eyes. The lower part of his face was covered in shadows. If Naruto added his porcelain mask, his identity was carefully hidden. "The hood helps to hide my hair. There aren't many ninjas with this shade of blond, so it's quite conspicuous", Naruto reasoned and Tsunade noticed the deliberate tone in his voice. The Fifth nodded in agreement. Especially for Naruto, it was essential to keep his identity a secret.

"So, how was training, brat? I see you're still in one piece."

Naruto shot an amused glance at his only female sensei. "Well, Anko-sensei here certainly has a different interpretation of the word 'training' as Kakashi-sensei has. She does live up to her reputation!"

"And what kind of _reputation_ would that be, gaki?", Anko turned on her pupil with a very dangerous glint in her eyes, hands angrily on her hips. The fact that she had to look up at him, didn't make the gesture less threatening.

"Hehe", Naruto chuckled nervously, "you see what I mean, baa-chan?"

Tsunade fondly grinned at the pair. She hadn't seen Naruto like this since he had returned. Well, technically, she had only seen him once since then, but the last time, he had been too serious and tense. Tsunade really hoped that the time with the easygoing and tomboyish Anko had helped Naruto along in the process of recovering.

Eventually, Tsunade had to interfere and stop their bickering before it turned violent.

"So, Naruto, do you feel like taking a mission tomorrow?", Tsunade addressed her son-figure.

"Huh", the boy answered, confused. "I thought I was going to start with _my_ mission now." After all, he had trained to get his own team and to put his plans into action.

"Yes, I know, gaki", but there is one mission that needs to be done before you take off on your own", the Hokage explained. "I'd send someone else, but you see, this came up just today and has to be done quickly. It's not even an ANBU mission, only a B-ranked one." Tsunade eyed Naruto's reaction. Three years ago, the boy would have thrown a tantrum, but now, his face turned serious. This was a mission and even if he was very eager to finally get started, he would listen to his Hokage's orders. "So, you think you can handle it, Naruto?", Tsunade teased.

"Yes, Hokage-sama", Naruto answered respectfully; easily switching from his sloppy familiarity with the Hokage to the well-trained ANBU he now was.

Tsunade nodded curtly; unknowingly, Naruto had just passed the first part of the test.

"Fine, brat. You will meet the other members of the team tomorrow morning." With some last instructions, Tsunade dismissed the two shinobi.

* * *

><p>Naruto was roof-jumping towards Kakashi's apartment. He had put his hood back over his head and the white porcelain mask was also back in place, hiding his features. Before he left, Kakashi had offered that Naruto could stay with him again. Naruto didn't want people to know that he was back in Konoha yet, until he had met the team mates he had specifically requested, so he could not yet use his own apartment in case anyone saw him. He knew that he couldn't avoid his old class mates much longer and being back in Konoha had him actually looking forward to seeing them again; maybe some more than others. There was a certain pink-haired girl he'd rather avoid for another three years.<p>

Arriving at Kakashi's apartment, Naruto politely knocked on the front door, taking off his ANBU mask, so Kakashi would know who it was. He could feel Kakashi's chakra signature approaching and seconds later, the wooden door opened to reveal his old sensei. He was hiding the lower part of his face behind his hand, as he apparently wasn't wearing his black mask. The grey-haired jounin looked at his student with surprise in his one visible eye. He had not felt Naruto's chakra signature at all; in fact, he still wasn't feeling it. Anko had trained him thoroughly, it seemed.

"Naruto!", he exclaimed and his eye curved up into his famous eye-smile.

"Psst!", Naruto hissed and quickly stepped into Kakashi's apartment, closing the door behind him.

Kakashi chuckled softly and let the hand, that had obscured his face, fall back to his side. Naruto looked at his sensei. His now visible lips curved up in a warm smile that fit nicely to the curved eye. He remembered how surprised he had been the first time he had seen him without the mask. He still wasn't used to the sight, but he felt warm at the display of trust.

On impulse, Naruto returned the smile and a foxy grin graced his lips.

"The uniform looks good on you, Naruto", Kakashi complimented. "It reminds me of my days in ANBU", he mused.

Naruto suppressed a light blush. He was still not used to compliments or praise. Gladly, his rumbling stomach saved him from an answer. Kakashi offered to prepare a meal for them and Naruto took a quick shower. Back in his normal clothes, he joined his sensei at his kitchen table. They ate in silence for some minutes, before Kakashi broke it by asking about his training with Anko.

Naruto found himself unusually talkative. Maybe it was the nice food or the company of a trusted person. Kakashi listened to his stories about how Anko's training had been more torture than anything else. Apparently, the purple-haired jounin had tried to squeeze the training of months into only four weeks.

Naruto eventually finished. In the meantime, darkness had fallen and an exhausted yawn forced itself out of the boy. Kakashi fondly smiled at the young man. He couldn't deny that he had changed, but he also saw that there was hope that Naruto would lose the feeling of depression and tension hanging over him.

Naruto slept on Kakashi's couch that night, feeling safer than in months.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Naruto was surprised to see Kakashi already up and ready to leave. Without telling him why, the man was following him to the Hokage tower. Naruto was wearing his usual shinobi outfit, but had added a hood to the neck of his dark tank top. He had grown rather attached to the hoods. They provided him with a feeling of anonymity that he had never experienced in his childhood, while wearing the orange jumpsuit.<p>

Naruto and Kakashi had the decency to use the door for once and together entered Tsunade's office. Suddenly, Naruto laid eyes on the too familiar pink hair of one Haruno Sakura. Naruto's lips turned into a snarl of contempt. Hadn't he wished not to see the girl just last night?

"Kakashi, Naruto", Tsunade welcomed them. At the sound of Naruto's name, Sakura spun around to face her blond ex-team mate.

Naruto pulled off his hood and revealed his face. Thousands of different emotions swelled up inside him. _Sakura..._ Even in his head, Naruto no longer added the affectionate -chan to Sakura's name. He had tried so hard to befriend the pinkette, but she had never acknowledged him. Neither as a friend, nor a mere team mate. And finally she had spat at him in the middle of a public street; told him that she hated him; slapped him in the face... _betrayed_ him.

Hot anger whirled around in the pit of his stomach. The dull ache in his chest flared up painfully. He suppressed the urge to claw at his heart and before the building rage could overwhelm him, Naruto tried to push it all back down.

He could feel Kyuubi growl in disappointment in the back of his mind. The fox demon was very excited about his sudden and severe mood change. Naruto felt his evil chakra trying to seduce him into using his powers. With a final mental push, he suppressed the Kyuubi's malevolent energy and concentrated back on Sakura.

Apparently, Naruto's momentary fight for dominance over both his anger and Kyuubi's fuelling evil intent had shown too clearly on his features.

The pink-haired kunoichi had an expression of pure horror on her face. If Naruto had taken the time to listen carefully, he would have heard Sakura's frantic heartbeat.

"Naruto!", Tsunade barked emphatically.

Hearing Tsunade's voice broke Naruto out of his rage-induced stupor.

He shook his head and to his own surprise, he realized that he had been leaking a huge amount of killing intent. He felt his slitted pupils and blood-red eyes return to their normal blue state.

Sakura visibly relaxed, but the look of horror and fear didn't leave her eyes. What had just happened? Sakura couldn't take her eyes off of the blond boy. Was this really Naruto? The blond idiot she had hit for his stupid remarks and his clumsiness? And what was he wearing? No orange, but only dark colours? _Who is this boy? _

"Na-Naruto?", Sakura whispered, the fear and confusion evident in her voice.

Naruto's blue eyes met her green ones and Sakura gulped. Naruto's eyes were hard and cold. Where was the usual spark of joy? The carefree expression of a boy that had loudly declared to be the next Hokage? With a sinking feeling, Sakura slowly realized that she might be one of the reasons for Naruto's drastic change. What had she done? How _could _she? An increasing wave of shame rolled over her. Sakura's eyes suddenly stung from hot tears. She needed to somehow make up for her mistakes.

The blond averted his eyes from Sakura. He saw the tears in the girl's eyes, but it barely affected him. Mere tears would never be able to compensate for what Naruto had felt in the moment of Sakura's betrayal.

Naruto turned fully away from his former team mate, facing Tsunade. "Hokage-sama", he said in a voice devoid of emotion. His face was schooled into an expressionless mask that would have made an Uchiha proud.

"Y-Yes", Tsunade stammered, more than shocked about the scene she had just witnessed. Clearing her throat and collecting herself, she faced the four shinobi in front of her desk.

Only now did Naruto see the fourth person next to Sakura. Chiding himself for his lack of attention, Naruto blamed it on the unexpected meeting with Sakura. Still, this mustn't happened again. He mustn't allow himself to get distracted by something like that.

Naruto regarded the other shinobi. He had never seen him before, but after all, he had been absent for three years. He had jet-black short hair and extremely pale skin. He was his height and wore a midriff-baring short black jacket; a tanto was strapped on his back. His face and dark eyes betrayed no emotions.

When the boy, who was probably a year or two older than himself, noticed Naruto watching him, he gave the blond an incredibly faked smile.

Unfazed, Naruto looked back at Tsunade, who had seemingly recovered. "Now that all of you are here, I will assign you the mission", she said with a forced smile, trying to break the remaining tension. "Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto and ...Sai, you will form a team for this mission only. Your captain will be Hatake Kakashi."

Tsunade carefully glanced in Naruto's direction. Would he object to working with Sakura? Naruto met Tsunade's eyes, returning the questioning gaze. Naruto would not back down. He had already agreed to the mission yesterday. Even knowing with whom he was partnered, he wouldn't go back on his word. Maybe he had changed, but he remained true to most of his former principles.

Satisfied, Tsunade continued. Unknowingly, Naruto had just passed the second part of the test. "Your mission is to safely deliver this scroll", she held up a large, red scroll, "to the Kazekage. It is of most importance to the peace treaty negotiations and must under no circumstances fall to the enemy's hands."

When mentioning the Kazekage, Tsunade saw a flicker of emotion cross through Naruto's ocean blue eyes. The boy was probably looking forward to seeing Gaara again.

She went on with her instructions. "This mission may seem simple, but stay alert at all times."

"Yes, Hokage-sama", the four shinobi said.

Tsunade handed the scroll over to Kakashi and the jounin stored it in one of the many pockets of his jounin vest.

"Go get everything you need and we'll meet me at the gates in half an hour", Kakashi ordered and shunshin'ed out of the office. Without a second glance at his team mates, Naruto nodded to Tsunade and vanished with a small 'poof' identical to Kakashi's.

* * *

><p>Naruto gathered his things in silence. It wasn't much and considering that he was temporarily living with Kakashi, he hadn't really unpacked anything. Most of his clothes were sealed in storage scrolls, anyway, which made it simple for him to choose the scrolls he needed now.<p>

Finishing quickly, he walked over to Kakashi's bedroom door. He knocked and stepped inside after a cheerful 'come in'.

Kakashi was just sealing his bedroll into a storage scroll of his own and put it in his bag pack. His single dark eye smiled at Naruto.

"Why didn't you tell me that Sakura was going on this mission?", Naruto demanded to know, his ocean blue eyes scrutinizingly staring at his jounin captain.

Kakashi looked at him levelly. "Would it have changed anything, if I had told you? Would it have prepared you, if you had known?"

Naruto thought about his words for a moment. Seeing Sakura had been unexpected, to say the least. Before meeting her this morning, he had not wasted much time on thinking about her. Would he have reacted differently, if he had known? Naruto couldn't say for sure, but he highly doubted it. Nothing could have prepared him for the sudden rage that had threatened to overwhelm him for a few seconds.

"No", he answered truthfully and Kakashi gave him a self-satisfied eye-smile.

Naruto went back to the living room where he had left his katana on Kakashi's coffee table. He carefully strapped it onto his back, so that the hilt poked out over his right shoulder, granting him easy access in case he needed to draw it. Pocketing several scrolls in his back pouch, he checked his kunai pouch on his thigh once again and finally deemed everything to be thoroughly prepared and in place.

About to shunshin away to the gates, a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Naruto turned around to look up at his grey-haired sensei. Wordlessly, Kakashi held out his right hand to him. Naruto looked down. There was a brand-new Konoha forehead protector in his hand. The metal plate engraved with the Konoha leaf insignia, shone like a mirror. The cloth of the headband was black and rather long.

Naruto looked at it. Should he take it? He _was_ a ninja of Konoha again. It would only be right to wear it again. He was an ANBU and had joined the ranks of Konoha's military forces once more. Even if he did not yet feel like he belonged here again, he unconsciously did so already. And if he ever wanted to be acknowledged by the villagers, he needed to show them that he was a proud shinobi, fighting for the Leaf.

Making his decision, Naruto took the offered forehead protector from his sensei's hand. The silver metal was cold to his touch, the black cloth smooth. With a practised motion, he tied it tightly around his head. The long ends were falling freely down his neck.

Naruto was wearing the Konoha forehead protector for the first time in three years. Did he feel better now? Maybe. Did he feel worse? No. _At least something_, Naruto thought sarcastically and pulled the hood back over his hair.

Kakashi watched his pupil's face after putting on the headband. Unknowingly, Naruto had just passed the third part of the test.

* * *

><p>Sakura and Sai were already waiting for them, as Kakashi and Naruto arrived at the gates. Sakura shot a nervous glance in Naruto's direction, but she wasn't able to make out his expression, due to the strange hood that hid his hair and half of his face. The pinkette noticed the katana on the boy's back and quietly wondered, what else Naruto had learned during his absence.<p>

With a nod to the guards, Kakashi led the way out of Konoha.

_It seems as though I never really stay here for long, _Naruto pondered. He had returned to Konoha four weeks ago and had only spent two whole nights in actual Konoha. Wondering whether this was going to change in the future, Naruto quietly followed Kakashi.

* * *

><p><em>(1) I don't know, if the ANBU masks are really chosen like that, but I think it's a logical explanation, better than choosing some random animal.<br>_

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading, guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!<strong>

**In case you're wondering, this is _not_ going to be the 'Kazekage Rescue Arc' mission. This story won't follow cannon, except for some key events I chose to use. This mission has a completely different purpose.**

**A lot of you asked when Naruto and Sasuke are finally going to meet... I think there will be at least four more chapters before that happens... I hope you won't stop reading because of it, because I have the whole scenario already planned out since I started writing this story and I'm so excited to finally type it! So please, until then be patient, dear readers, and enjoy the rest of the story!**

**So, did you guess who Neji, Kiba and Shikamaru's new captain will be?**

**Let me know what you think, please! :)**

**Over and out,**

**xXHaneliXx**


	9. Chapter 9

**I don't own Naruto!**

* * *

><p><strong>'He had no idea'<strong>

**Chapter 9**

* * *

><p><em><strong>So I'll love whatever you become<br>And forget the reckless things we've done  
>I think our lives have just begun<br>I think our lives have just begun **_

_**Staying awake to chase a dream  
>Tasting the air you're breathing in<br>I hope I won't forget a thing  
><strong>_

**- 'Falling Away With You' by Muse**

* * *

><p>"Let's make camp for the night", Kakashi's deep voice sounded through the forest, breaking the silence between them. The quiet group stopped their tree-jumping and all gathered in the small clearing Kakashi pointed out to them.<p>

It was the first day of the mission and just this morning Naruto, Sakura, Sai and their captain Kakashi had departed from Konoha. By now, darkness had fallen and everyone was tired from the day's journey. Naruto mumbled something under his breath about wanting to go on, but still he knew that the other's didn't have his incredible stamina and besides he was hungry.

Kakashi gave orders for Sai to hunt them some small animal for dinner, Naruto and one of his shadow clones searched for some wood to start a fire and Sakura was preparing their cooking utensils to be ready to make dinner as soon as Sai was back.

Naruto soon came back with enough firewood to last the night and Kakashi lit it with a well-aimed fire jutsu. Sai presented two big rabbits to Sakura, who immediately squeaked and ordered him to skin them. Naruto ignored the two and walked over to Kakashi, who was sitting under a tree, watching Sai and Sakura.

He looked up at him, as he came closer. "Naruto", he eye-smiled.

"Kakashi-sensei", the blond said, sitting down next to him, "I was wondering if you allowed me to try putting a seal on the scroll."

Kakashi raised his one visible eyebrow at him in question. "The scroll we have to deliver to Gaara?"

"Yes, Tsunade-baachan said it was really important. So I thought of this new seal I worked on during my time with Jiraiya."

"What will the seal do?", Kakashi inquired a bit suspiciously, not knowing how far Naruto's training in Fuinjutsu went.

"Well", Naruto started to explain, "it will help keep the scroll safe in case an enemy lays his hand on it."

Naruto had not really explained how the seal worked, but Kakashi knew he could trust him and therefore took out the scroll from his front pocket of his jounin vest and handed it to Naruto.

The blond took it without hesitation and immediately unrolled the paper, so that the front was facing the grass. Naruto stuck a hand into a pocket of his vest, reaching for one of his own scrolls. With two fast hand signs, he unsealed a brush and a small inkwell, his sealing kit. Kakashi watched him intently as he drew an intricate seal on the back side of the scroll. He marvelled at the boy's quick and precise motions. It was amazing how Naruto was able to draw seals this neat, but his handwriting was barely readable. He had been trained in Fuinjutsu as well, so he knew that Naruto seemed to be very talented with it. Following the brush with his dark eye, he tried to read the seal. The design was a complex one and he didn't recognize it.

It took the blond some minutes to finish the seal, but eventually he bit his thumb, as if he was about to do the summoning technique. Instead, he smeared some of his blood over the seal. It vanished, seemingly soaking into the paper.

"Kakashi", Naruto said, startling the jounin from his intent observations, "I need your blood."

Kakashi blinked at him for a second. Assuming he wanted him to do the same, he bit his thumb and moved it over the seal. His blood vanished as well. Naruto nodded, satisfied.

"Kakashi-sensei, Naruto", Sakura called for them nervously. Dinner was ready.

The two got up and moved over to the fire, sitting down around it. Sakura handed the first bowl of what looked like a stew to Naruto. The blond was surprised about it, but paid it no further mind. If Sakura wanted to regain his respect, she needed to do better than this. But maybe it was a start? Sighing, Naruto took the bowl from her, not looking at her hopeful but nervous face. Was the pinkette still afraid of him after what happened in Tsunade's office?

They ate in silence for some time, before Sai hesitantly cleared his throat. Naruto turned his head to look at the older boy sitting next to him.

"Uzumaki-san", the dark-haired boy began respectfully and somewhat stiffly, "I noticed you drawing a seal earlier. I hope you don't mind me asking, but would you show it to me?" He finished with one of his fake smiles.

Naruto blinked at the older teen. Had he just addressed him as 'Uzumaki-san'? No one had ever called him that. And what was it about his strange smiles?

"Um", Naruto said, setting down his half-finished bowl. He grabbed the scroll from the earth next to him, where he had put it before dinner. Unrolling it, he showed the back to Sai. "I don't mind, Sai-san. See", he pointed out some of the ink lines on the scroll's back, "it's a personalized seal. It will react to everyone except for the four of us."

"That's why you used your and Kakashi-senpai's blood?", Sai inquired. Even though his voice betrayed none of his emotions, Naruto had the impression that he was curious about it. Why else would he ask, right?

"Yes", Naruto affirmed his observations, "and I still need your blood. And Sakura's too." Naruto didn't look at the girl, but saw her flinch from the corner of his eyes. Had the pinkette only just noticed that he no longer called her 'Sakura-chan'?

Naruto instructed Sai on where to put his blood and then waited for Sakura to do the same. The girl quickly bit her thumb and smeared a red streak over the seal. After all four of them had given their blood, the seal was now completely finished. Naruto added another small design to the seal and re-rolled the scroll. He handed it back to Kakashi, who stored it in his vest once more. "Finished."

"What exactly did you do, Naruto?", Kakashi wanted to know. The blond still hadn't explained how the seal worked.

"If anyone other than us touches the scroll, it will multiply by several dozens, maybe hundreds", Naruto said, re-sealing his sealing kit and putting the storage scroll back in his vest.

"Maybe hundreds?", Kakashi prompted, blinking at him.

"Hehe", the boy chuckled nervously, rubbing his neck sheepishly, like he used to do all the time when he was younger. "You know, I only tested this seal once so far... and the last time it only doubled, which wasn't really that effective. So I made certain adjustments." His blue eyes were looking everywhere but at his sensei. "So the amount of duplicate scrolls should increase considerably this time."

Naruto finished his explanation, hoping fiercely that none of them would ask him how it would be possible to distinguish between the original and the fake scrolls later. He hadn't worked that one out yet. It had been really easy, considering that last time, there had been only two scrolls. The fake scroll had been empty, whilst the original had contained the information. If the scroll did duplicate by several hundreds, they'd have to look into every single scroll, trying to find the original. Of course, the enemy would have to do the same, which was the whole purpose behind the technique.

Fortunately for the blond, no one asked further questions on the seal and after some poor attempt at forced conversation from Sakura, they unpacked their bedrolls and Sai took the first watch of the night.

* * *

><p>It was around noon of the next day and the border to Wind Country was close. The four were travelling in a loose formation. Naruto was in the front; with his extraordinary sense of smell and hearing, he'd be the first to detect another's presence. Second in line was Kakashi as the captain, behind him came Sakura as the medic and Sai made up the rear.<p>

The lush forests of Fire Country were already getting thinner and would soon turn into desert. Kakashi was about to order a break for lunch, before they had to face the scalding sun, when Naruto suddenly stopped, raising a hand. It was the sign for them to stop as well and the other three landed on the branch beside him.

"Kakashi-sensei, six chakra signatures approaching from the East. Fast", Naruto reported. Suna was in the West of them.

Kakashi nodded his head to the ground and all four dropped down. There was a small river to their left and several boulders in their back. It wasn't the ideal place to fight – if it came to a fight – but it had to do. They spread out, backs to each other, each of them facing different directions.

Naruto crouched down, closing his eyes, listening. He heard them coming closer. But what was that? One of them had stopped a safe distance away. "One of them stopped. About three miles away. The other five are still getting closer."

"Do not attack before I tell you to. It is possible that they are not enemies", the grey-haired captain said calmly.

Naruto opened his eyes again. Soundlessly, he unsheathed the katana from his back. Next to him he saw Sai taking out what looked like a customized scroll and a brush. He had no time to wonder about how he was going to use those utensils in a fight, because the whir of a metallic object flying through the air made him whirl around.

He turned just in time to see a miniature arrow hit Kakashi in the neck. The jounin touched the arrow with his hand, pulling it out, looking at it quizzically. Naruto followed his movements with his eyes, carefully listening for any other sounds of attack.

Sakura was late to turn around and the only thing she saw was her sensei keeling over, hitting the ground with a thud. "Kakashi-sensei!", the pinkette shrieked, about to run over to him.

"Sakura! Stop!" Naruto's hard voice made the girl stop dead in her tracks. "Don't move!"

"What? But Kakashi-sen –", the pink-haired girl began in her loud and shrill voice.

Naruto put a hand to his lips, indicating for the girl to be quiet. He was listening and the annoying voice was not helping. Something had changed. "They stopped their advance."

Naruto's mind was racing. Whoever attacked them had incapacitated Kakashi with a single arrow. This meant that it was probably poisoned. But why did they stop? And why weren't they trying to incapacitate him and the others as well? Something felt strange about the situation. Listening carefully, Naruto deemed it safe to move. "Sakura, check on Kakashi."

The pinkette did as ordered and leaned over the man's body. Naruto felt her gathering chakra in her hands as she ran them over his head and torso, checking his vital signs. "He is unconscious, but breathing. The arrow was poisoned, I can feel it in his blood system", the medic nin informed.

Naruto nodded to himself; just as he had assumed. "Can you heal him?"

Sakura wrinkled her wide forehead, assessing the situation. "I'm already trying to get the poison out of his body, but it seems to evade my chakra. I need more time to remove it. But it doesn't seem to be very aggressive. If they had intended to kill him, he'd be dead already."

Naruto agreed with her. But why wouldn't they try to kill him? What were they after?

"Sai, help Sakura carry Kakashi over to these bushes and hide him", Naruto ordered, pointing to said bushes. Kakashi was currently unable to fight, so he had to get out of the way in case it came to a battle.

"Wait, I need to heal him!", Sakura objected, standing up and turning towards Naruto.

Naruto coolly regarded the girl. "Sakura, you said the poison is not fatal, so we need to get him to safety, so –"

"Hiding him in the underbrush is not 'safety', we need to get him to a hospital!" Sakura's voice was rising in volume and Naruto found it extremely hard to listen to her _and_ the enemy; they were enemy now in his eyes, they had attacked first.

Naruto breathed in, trying to not shout at the girl. Right now it was really hard to remember why Naruto had tried to befriend her during academy time. Had the girl always been this bitchy and whiny?

"Sakura, the enemy is closing in, we –"

"You said they stopped", Sakura dared to interrupt again, "we can flee and –"

"JUST SHUT THE HELL UP!", Naruto yelled, exasperated.

He just couldn't take her whining any more. The girl honestly failed to see the seriousness of the situation. It should be easy to realize that fleeing was not an option, she was a chuunin after all. But Naruto also remembered how Sakura had always lacked actual combat skills. She was good with book knowledge, but when it came down to using it, she had never shown much skills.

The pink-haired girl was staring at Naruto with wide eyes. Had Naruto just _yelled_ at her? And _cursed_? Naruto had never used such a tone with her before. _How dare he!_

"Who gave you the permission to take command anyway, Naruto?", Sakura screamed, putting her hands on her hips, trying her best to look intimidating.

Naruto ran a hand over his eyes. He so didn't need this right now. His hand fell away and his ice-cold blue eyes focused on Sakura. "Sakura, you will listen very carefully now", Naruto whispered in a dangerously calm voice, "as long as Kakashi is unconscious, I will take over command and replace him as captain. We can't flee right now, Kakashi will slow us down and the enemy will catch up to us and I will most certainly not abandon him. Besides, I'm the highest ranking shinobi next to Kakashi, so command falls to me. Do you understand?"

Naruto was already a jounin? How had he managed that? There were just too many things that Sakura didn't know; and she didn't like it. The girl opened her mouth to object once more. "What makes you think I'll follow you just like that?"

Naruto couldn't help but admit that the girl was either very brave or very stupid in standing up to her. Right now, Naruto was angered and impatient to fight, so it was very stupid of Sakura to talk to him like that.

Drawing on the Kyuubi's chakra, Naruto felt his eyes bleed red, round pupils turning into slits. He knew he was leaking killing intent, but he didn't care. Should Sakura see what it gained her to object Naruto.

The girl froze under the power of the killing intent and the sight of Naruto's eyes. The look the blond gave her was purely menacing. The angry pink blush that had been on Sakura's cheeks faded.

"You _will_ listen to me, Sakura", Naruto almost growled. "Now, do we understand each other?"

Sakura paled, gulping, she obediently bobbed her head up and down in answer. She understood. How had she ever dared to talk back to this boy? Was this even Naruto? It definitely wasn't the Naruto Sakura thought she knew.

"Now move Kakashi", Naruto ordered more calmly, but with so much authority in his voice that no one questioned him. He watched them prop his sensei up against the tree. The blond considered taking the scroll from him, but the enemy would probably expect it, so he left it in Kakashi's pocket. If an enemy laid hands on the scroll, there was still the seal hindering them from stealing it.

Naruto concentrated on the enemy again, feeling them getting closer once more. "They are coming", he informed his team mates, beckoning for them to get closer to his side. Sai stood on his left and Sakura on his right.

"I can hear them now", Sai whispered, unrolling a blank scroll and beginning to paint what looked like a beast. "But there are only four of them now."

"Yes." Naruto had heard it, too. One of them had stopped again. Four were still advancing.

The adrenaline sharpened Naruto's senses to a maximum. He heard Sakura swallow next to him, he smelled her fear and sensed her agitation. Sai was the exact opposite; he was calm and collected, the only indication of his emotions was his quickened heartbeat.

And Naruto, he was... _excited_. He was finally able to put his acquired skills to use. The hilt of the katana in his hands felt smooth and right. He hadn't been in a real fight for months and he was looking forward it. Kyuubi was eager, too, he felt him anticipating the coming fight. The demon's bloodlust was strong, but his own emotions were stronger. The thrill increased and he felt an eerie smile playing on his lips.

A swarm of senbon came suddenly flying from the tree line and all three of them jumped back, evading the sharp needles easily. From the corner of his eye, Naruto saw how Sai was attacked by a black-clad shinobi. The person was wearing a mask, which completely covered his head. Naruto heard Sai call out his technique, "_Ninpo: Choju Giga", (1) _and a huge ink lion sprang alive from the scroll, launching itself at the attacking shinobi.

Naruto didn't have the time to further observe them, because another two black-clad figures were on him in the next second.

Naruto raised his katana, defending himself from a blade swung at his head. The swords clashed, clanging. The enemy stepped back, giving Naruto an opening. He attacked, aiming for the enemies neck. He turned away, evading his blade. The second figure jumped at him from behind. Naruto whirled around, catching the fist coming at him with his left hand, holding onto it tightly.

Channelling wind chakra through his katana, Naruto swung the sword at the enemy, intending to behead him. But he ducked low, throwing himself backwards and pulling his hand free of Naruto's grasp in the process. Naruto staggered for a second, losing his balance.

The first attacker managed to slice through his shirt with his blade. Ignoring the sharp pain, Naruto threw his katana at the second enemy, who came running towards him. The wind chakra-infused katana cut through the air and before the other one knew what was happening, the sword buried in his left shoulder, too high to pierce the heart. Still, he staggered, falling to his knees with a cry of pain.

Naruto concentrated on the first attacker once more. The man raised his katana over his head, bringing it down with force. The blond jumped to the side, dodging the sharp blade. Using the other's momentum, Naruto grabbed his arm, pulling him forwards. The man stumbled. Trying to regain his balance, he let go off his sword. Naruto was behind him in a heartbeat, his foot connecting with his back in a powerful kick. The enemy gasped, hitting the ground face first.

Naruto didn't wait for him to get up. He quickly looked around, trying to see how Sakura and Sai were doing.

Sakura was having difficulties with her opponent. The man was fast and seemingly more experienced than her. She grunted from a kick to her stomach, which send her flying through the air. She hit one of the large boulders, the impact forcing the air from her lungs.

Forming a rasengan in his right hand, Naruto was next to Sakura's opponent immediately. He thrust his arm forwards, punching the enemy in the chest with his attack.

A sudden 'poof' sounded and Naruto saw his hand impaling a log. _Kawarimi no Jutsu (2), _he thought while pulling his fist out of the splintered wood.

A surprised squeal made Naruto's head snap around to the bushes where Sai and Sakura had hidden Kakashi.

A very self-satisfied grin appeared on Naruto's lips as he saw what was happening. Somehow, the fifth enemy had sneaked around them, found Kakashi and apparently searched him for the scroll. Now, uncountable numbers of scrolls were flying from the underbrush, multiplying and multiplying uncountable times. The enemy shinobi stumbled into sight. The black-clad figure was wearing the same outfit as the other's but thanks to the very feminine squeal earlier, Naruto was sure this one was a woman.

Fighting her way through the heap of scrolls that were still proliferating like crazy, she waved her arms at her comrades.

The shinobi fighting Sai saw her frantic waving and retreated quickly into the forest. Sakura's opponent was nowhere in sight after the Kawarimi.

Naruto's first attacker was getting up from the ground, seemingly recovered from the kick to his back. He halted for a moment, looking at his fallen comrade, the man with Naruto's katana through the shoulder. Sai suddenly appeared in front of the bleeding man and the other fled, following into the forest.

Naruto listened. The four retreating enemies were fleeing fast. Should they follow them? He decided against it. Kakashi was still out of action and Sakura didn't look too well either. However, his fingers formed a well-known cross and two Shadow Clones appeared. "Follow them", Naruto ordered his clones and turned away.

"Sai, go look after Sakura, please", Naruto said to the dark-haired teen, who was still failing to show any emotion.

Naruto walked over to the enemy on the ground. He crouched down next to him. Placing a hand over his carotid, he looked for a pulse and found one. With the help of his knees, Naruto turned the man over, so that he was lying on his side. Gripping the hilt of his katana, Naruto pulled it out with a quick motion. The man fall on his back, breathing heavily. Naruto saw his chest move up and down and suddenly he realized that the person was actually a woman.

Naruto pulled the black mask over the woman's face. It revealed a face contorted in pain. From what Naruto saw, he believed the woman to be in her early twenties. Her eyes were shut fiercely, but opened to look up at Naruto. Brown eyes glared at her defiantly. Naruto took the mask off completely. Long and straight purple hair fell from it, gathering around the woman's head.

"Who are you and what do you want?", Naruto questioned, looking down with cold blue eyes at the bleeding woman.

Another glare was her answer.

Naruto sighed, pressing the mask against the woman's shoulder, intending to stop the bleeding from the stab wound. The woman hissed in pain, but didn't try to stop him.

Sai and Sakura walked over to Naruto and the woman, watching them. "What are we going to do with her, Uzumaki-taichou?", Sai asked in his emotionless voice, but easily adding the respectful _-taichou_ to Naruto's name and hence accepting him as captain.

Naruto let go off the cloth on the wound and his hands formed signs with well-trained speed. Small, purple-glowing chakra flames appeared on each fingertip of Naruto's right hand.

"_Gogyo Fuin", (3) _the blond said quietly and pressed his fingertips on the woman's stomach. The chakra flames were sucked into her body and the woman gasped, her eyes widening for a second before her body went limp.

"What did you do to her?", Sakura exclaimed, alarmed.

"He sealed away her chakra", Sai spoke up, his dark eyes on Naruto.

The blond turned his head up to look at him, getting up from his crouching position. He was surprised that the other teen knew the jutsu. He arched an eyebrow at him in question. Sai obviously didn't get the gesture, so he had to ask him aloud.

"How come you know Fuinjutsu, Sai-san?"

Sakura gazed at her two team mates. She had absolutely no knowledge about sealing techniques, but that didn't mean she wouldn't listen now.

Sai gave Naruto one of his fake smiles and replied, "I'm a member of Root. My training also included Fuinjutsu, but I am not nearly as capable as you are, Uzumaki-taichou."

The only thing Naruto knew about Root was that it was a secret subdivision of the ANBU. He made a mental note to ask Sai about it later on.

"We are going to take her to Konoha", Naruto answered to Sai's earlier question. "Sakura, heal her shoulder and then tie her up."

Grabbing the katana from the ground, Naruto put it back in the sheath on his back and walked over to the heap of scrolls. How was he going to find the original? There were hundreds of copies, sorting through them would take some time, but he wanted to leave as soon as possible. Kakashi was still unconscious and even though the poison hadn't killed him so far, there was no guarantee that it wouldn't do so in the near future.

Forming the cross seal once more, some hundred Shadow Clones appeared around him with collective 'poofs'. "Dig out Kakashi from under the scrolls", Naruto ordered his doppelgangers, "and then open every scroll until you find the original."

The clones sweat-dropped. What kind of task was that? The original glared at the others and they all quickly took to opening scroll after scroll, digging out an unconscious Kakashi in the process.

Naruto went back to where Sai was tying the enemy up with what looked like snakes made of ink. The blond had never heard about using ink techniques and made another mental note to ask Sai about it later.

Naruto stood in the middle of the small clearing, regarding his team mates and the group of clones sifting through the scrolls. They had two unconscious bodies to get to Konoha. Naruto had already decided that proceeding with their mission was out of the question. Kakashi needed medical attention and probably an antidote. Even though Sakura was a very capable medic, the girl could not do much without the right instruments and chemicals or whatever she needed to prepare an antidote. So they had to quit the mission and get back to Konoha. It had taken one and a half day to get to the border of Wind Country. If they hurried, they could be back in Konoha in half the time. He just hoped that Sai and Sakura were not too exhausted. He wasn't worrying too much about Sai, though; if the boy had received ANBU training, he should have the needed stamina to reach Konoha without a break. Sakura on the other hand seemed to be in a worse condition. Naruto thought it unlikely that the girl would make it without a break or two.

Feeling something hot running down his side, Naruto remembered that he had been injured. The enemy with the katana had sliced his skin through his shirt. Looking down, lifing his shirt a little and touching his side, Naruto saw that the wound was almost completely healed already. He sent a mental 'thanks' to Kyuubi, who didn't deign to answer.

"Boss!", his own happy voice called out to the blond. Naruto looked at the waving clone. "I found the original scroll!"

"Finally!", the others muttered in chorus, rolling their eyes.

Suddenly, all the fake scrolls dispersed with poofs similar to the sound of dispelling shadow clones. All hundred clones plus the original and Sakura and Sai looked at the clone, who had been successful in locating the original scroll. _So all the fake scrolls disperse when someone opens the original scroll,_ Naruto mused, glad to have gotten some insight into his own technique. It still needed further improvements, though. He couldn't use shadow clones to find the original object every time.

The clone tossed the scroll over to Naruto, who caught it and stored it in his vest. "You two", Nartuo said, pointing to two of his clones, "stay, the others, dispel."

The clones did as ordered and the two remaining ones strolled over to their boss. Sakura checked on Kakashi once more, but his condition had neither improved nor worsened. Naruto took it as a good sign for now. One of his clones lifted Kakashi on its back, carrying him piggy-back style. The other clone did the same to the unconscious enemy and the group of three Narutos, Sai and Sakura started their way back to Konoha. Neither Sakura nor Sai questioned Naruto's leadership and followed him into the woods.

* * *

><p>In the early hours of the next morning, Naruto received the information of the two clones he had sent after the fleeing enemy shinobis. They had been 'killed' without finding out anything useful. But it seemed as though they were also travelling in the direction of Konoha. Naruto listened, but was unable to hear any movements in the near vicinity except for their own.<p>

The blond heard Sakura's strained breathing and turned to look at the girl. Her face was red and sweaty, her hair was messy and her mouth was open, taking in large gulps for air. She looked pathetic. Naruto knew that Sakura wouldn't keep up much longer.

The new captain raised his hand and instantly the others halted in their tree-jumping behind him. Sakura bent over, placing her hands on he knees, panting. Sai offered her his water bottle and the pinkette greedily emptied it in one go.

"Sakura, please check on Kakashi once again", Naruto told the tired girl. If Kakashi's condition changed to critical, he'd have to think of something else. But Sakura reported that nothing had changed. _Strange,_ Naruto thought. Why would an enemy just paralyse the team's captain and then attack the other members? Why hadn't they incapacitated all of them like that? They could've easily taken the scroll without a fight. Something still didn't feel right about the whole situation.

Sai watched the blond captain as he formed a third shadow clone. He ordered his copy to carry Sakura.

"W-What?", the pink-haired kunoichi sputtered indignantly.

"You obviously can't run any more, Sakura. But we need to reach Konoha as quickly as possible. Kakashi's condition can worsen any minute. So just let my clone carry you", Naruto reasoned in a calm tone that came out rather forced.

"I will not let you carry me, baka!", Sakura yelled, "I can still run!" As if on cue, the girl swayed, almost falling off the branch. Naruto's clone grabbed her arm and supported her.

The clone rolled his eyes at the pink-haired girl and very impatiently glared at her. "Just get over your stupid pride! If you don't comply, I'll make Sai tie you up! Either way, I _will_ carry you, so stop your bitching and _move_!"

Sakura stared up at the clone. With a weak attempt at a defiant glare, the pinkette climbed on the clone's back. The original Naruto hid his self-satisfied grin as he saw the girl's face lit up in the colour of her hair.

Naruto liked being captain more and more.

* * *

><p>It was dark when the gates of Konoha finally came into view. Naruto let out a tired sigh. Even with his amazing stamina the run back to the village had taken its toll on him. His chakra was divided into three clones and each was carrying another person. It was quite the performance to keep running for over one day like that without a break. Sai was panting next to him. His face was sweaty and his already extremely white skin looked even paler in the silver light of the moon.<p>

The guard at the gates nodded to them in greeting and seeing the unconscious Kakashi, they waved them through.

Naruto led the way to the hospital. He wanted to get his sensei there first thing. Reporting to Tsunade had to come later. The jounin had not awoken and by now Naruto was rather worried about him, although he played it down as not to alarm Sai and Sakura.

Arriving at the hospital, Sakura jumped from the back of Naruto's clone, who was still carrying her, and took the lead. She knew the hospital better than Naruto. Several medics came running to them, wanting to help. Sakura gave orders and Naruto admitted to himself that the girl looked quite professional.

They were ushered into a hospital room and Naruto's clone put Kakashi down on the bed and dispersed. The one carrying their female captive put the purple-haired woman down on her own feet. The woman had regained consciousness soon after Naruto had sealed her chakra. Her body was still constrained by Sai's ink snakes and the defiant look on her face was also still in place. The clone grabbed her arm and held a kunai to her side, daring the woman to try to escape.

Suddenly, the door burst open and the blonde Hokage entered. "What's going on?", she bellowed, looking at the dishevelled team.

Before Sakura was able to say a word, Naruto spoke up. "Team Kakashi reports back from the mission to Suna, Hokage-sama. We were attacked and Kakashi has been unconscious since then." Naruto's voice was clear and strong and didn't betray his exhaustion.

"I see", Tsunade said and quickly walked over to the hospital bed. She bent over Kakashi and took out a small syringe from Kami-knew-where. She injected the colourless liquid in Kakashi's neck and told the others that the man was going to wake up in a few moments.

_It's that easy?_ Naruto wondered. _How did she know which antidote to apply?_ Tsunade hadn't even used any medical techniques on the jounin and even though Naruto's knowledge on medicine was rather non-existent, he was pretty sure that Tsunade should at least have scanned his blood system or something; at least that was what Sakura had done.

He was interrupted in his silent musings, as Tsunade addressed him. "Who is the woman?", she asked, pointing at the purple-haired captive.

"She's one of the shinobi, who attacked us. I injured her and we took her captive, Hokage-sama", Naruto explained.

"What happened to her chakra? I feel a strange disturbance", the blonde Hokage wanted to know, eyeing the woman.

"I sealed it away", Naruto replied and Tsunade's head snapped around to look at him.

"Oh", she blinked, "I didn't know you can do that."

Naruto then gave a full report of what exactly happened; leaving out the part about Sakura objecting his leadership. Tsunade listened carefully, watching Naruto and the two chuunin closely. A smile played on her lips.

"So", the woman began, turning to Kakashi's bed, "what do you think, Kakashi? Did he pass or did he pass?"

The grey-haired jounin sat up in bed and gave his famous eye-smile. He looked way too healthy to have just regained consciousness and once more Naruto felt that something was not right at all. And what was Tsunade saying about 'passing'?

"Ne, Tsunade-sama", Kakashi chuckled, "he passes with flying colours."

Both turned to look at Naruto, who gave an unintelligent, "Huh?", staring back and forth between the two. "What's going on?"

"Before I tell you that, let's go to my office. This calls for sake!", the Hokage grinned, leading the way out of the hospital room.

* * *

><p>Half an hour later, Naruto sat in front of Tsunade's desk, an empty cup of sake in his hand. Kakashi was lazily leaning against the windows; Jiraiya had joined as well and an ANBU in uniform was standing in a corner with the captive. Sakura and Sai had been dismissed to get some rest.<p>

"So, gaki", Tsunade began, refilling their cups, "I can tell you're thoroughly confused right now, but let us enlighten you."

Naruto sipped the sake, welcoming the burning feeling running down his throat, warming his stomach. Tsunade was right, he was utterly confused.

"The whole mission was a test, Naruto. It was necessary to officially promote you to ANBU captain", Tsunade said, and added as an afterthought, "Congratulations by the way!" The blonde Hokage grinned at the newly-promoted captain sitting in front of her, raising her cup at the stunned boy.

Naruto only blinked, swallowing his sake. "So what exactly was the test?"

"Oh, you see, there were several parts to this test. The first", Tsunade held up her index finger, "part of the test was to see, if you'd agree to go on this mission, even though you had other plans. Three years ago you'd have thrown a tantrum, if things weren't going your way", Naruto blushed a little at that; it was true, "but you agreed and hence put the need of our village above your own, even if it was a seemingly unimportant mission."

Naruto nodded and Tsunade continued. "You passed the second part of the test when you met your team mates. Of course I knew about the situation between you and Sakura. By agreeing to work with her, even though there are personal differences, you passed the next part. A shinobi must work with anyone, regardless of personal preferences."

Naruto nodded again, remembering how he had not wanted to work with Sakura in the beginning.

"The third part was accepting the Konoha forehead protector from Kakashi. We all noticed you not wearing it, but as a shinobi of this village, you need to wear it and identify yourself with Konoha."

Naruto remembered how Kakashi had offered the headband to him without a word. He also remembered the moment of hesitation, but he had taken it – and was still wearing it around his head. So far he didn't regret the decision.

"After Team Kakashi left the village, Kakashi was the one who took over testing you. It was all planned of course, but as I wasn't present, it fell to Kakashi's assessment." Naruto shot a look at his sensei, who eye-smiled at him and drank sake through the cloth of his mask. Used to the sight, Naruto didn't waste another thought on the strange behaviour.

"I sent a team of six shinobi after you. They remained hidden, until you reached the border to Wind Country", Tsunade looked expectantly at Kakashi, prompting him to go on.

The grey-haired man sighed lazily, but began giving the report in his deep voice. "You detected the approaching enemies easily, Naruto, and warned us of them in time to get into a defensive position. Then the team incapacitated me with some kind of sedation, that left me seemingly unconscious. I was still able to hear and mostly see everything, though."

Naruto listened, going over each of the mentioned situations in his head.

"After I was out of action, it was up to the three of you to decide on a new captain and on a plan. So the hidden team waited until one of you took over command. We expected you to take over and you did. You demonstrated that you're able to keep your cool even in a hectic and new situation."

Kakashi paused, sipping on his sake. "I have to admit I'm disappointed in Sakura's behaviour, but you made her follow you nonetheless and handled her well. 'A shinobi must never question their leading ninja'", he said, quoting one of the shinobi rules of Konohagakure.

"The orders you gave were well thought-out and you even cared enough about your poor old sensei to get me out of the way." Naruto saw Kakashi grinning at him through his mask.

"You handled your two opponents better than we assumed. However, in case anyone was injured, Shizune-san stayed behind to heal them up; hers was the sixth presence you felt", Kakashi explained. "We didn't plan on you injuring Yugao like that, though." He waved a hand over at the 'captive', smirking.

"I'll never live that down, will I?", the purple-haired woman sighed, shaking her head.

She introduced herself to Naruto as Uzuki Yugao, a twenty-two-year-old ANBU member. The ANBU in uniform and mask behind her stepped forward. His current code name was Yamato. Naruto noticed his creepy eyes and quickly turned back to face the Hokage, but Yamato walked over to stand beside him.

Tsunade prompted for Yamato to speak up, so he did. Apparently, his wood clone – Naruto wondered about that, _wood clone?_ Where had he heard of a wood user before? – had followed them for some time; due to its wooden nature, Naruto and the others had not been able to detect his presence.

"At first, I thought it was reckless of you to leave the scroll with Kakashi. After all, your mission was to deliver the very important scroll safely to Suna", Yamato said, "But we didn't know about the seal you put on it. So we were all quite surprised when the scroll began multiplying like that, when Tenten touched it."

_The girl touching the scroll was Tenten?_, Naruto thought silently, wondering who else of the 'enemy' team had been someone he knew.

Yamato regarded Naruto with a look of appraisal on his face. "'A shinobi must prepare before it's too late'", he quoted another shinobi rule. "You exceeded our expectations by putting that seal on the scroll and showed a lot of foresight; as you did by sending two of your shadow clones after our retreat. Very well done, Naruto-san", he finished, inclining his head at him.

Naruto felt a blush creep on his cheeks, he really wasn't used to so much praise. After all, he had just acted; it had all felt so natural to him. But that was probably why he had passed their test, he realized and suddenly something akin to pride filled him. Was he proud of himself? _Maybe. He_ couldn't say for sure, because he had never felt like this before.

Naruto was shaken from his thoughts, when Kakashi mentioned his name again. "I am very proud of you, Naruto. You also proved that you never forgot the most important rule of a shinobi."

Naruto's blush increased under Kakashi's intense one-eyes gaze. Still, he finished for him. "Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash." A genuine smile tugged at his lips. "I had a really good sensei, you know?", he grinned at Kakashi, who smiled at him fondly in return.

"Abandoning the mission, though, was the right choice in that moment, Naruto", Tsunade said and gave him another fond smile.

* * *

><p>Two days and a lot of well-deserved sleep on Kakashi's couch later, Naruto and Kakashi were having dinner together in the grey-haired jounin's small kitchen. Naruto was still living with him, but it would change soon, because tomorrow he was finally going to meet his new team mates.<p>

"So what do you think?", Naruto asked between bites, looking over the table at his sensei.

Kakashi had stopped eating, his chopsticks halfway to his mouth. Naruto looked at his strange expression. He wasn't wearing his mask, which made it a great deal easier for Naruto to read the man.

"What?", the blond asked, sounding rather defensively, "I thought it was a nice plan."

Kakashi blinked and set down his bowl of rice. "It _is_ a good plan, Naruto. I'm just a little surprised, to be honest", he answered.

Naruto shrugged. He had decided on it, so he'd go through with it. Besides, it was necessary. Depending on the reaction he received from his new team mates tomorrow, all his future plans could be upset. He just hoped he had made the right choices.

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes later, Naruto jumped into Tsunade's office, entering through the window, which earned him an empty sake bottle flying at his head. He sidestepped it without effort and stood in front of the Hokage's desk.<p>

"You wanted to see me, baa-chan?"

"Yes, brat, come here", the blonde beckoned him closer to the desk. "As you are now officially an ANBU captain, you also gained the right to wear an animal mask. Together with Jiraiya, Kakashi and Anko, we decided on which mask fits you the best."

She reached under her desk, opening a drawer and presented the porcelain mask to the young man.

Naruto accepted it from her. The white mask had red and black markings and very small ears, but Naruto was unable to tell what animal it was supposed to be. He ran a hand over the smooth porcelain and found several old scratches. This mask was obviously not a new one. _Who did you belong to before?_ Naruto mused silently, tracing a black line with his fingertip.

"You have no idea what animal it is, gaki, admit it!", Tsunade smirked, watching the look on Naruto's face.

The blond looked up, blinking. "It doesn't matter, I already like it", he said, but Tsunade explained it nonetheless. The boy listened, as the Fifth told him what animal it was supposed to be and why they had chosen it for Naruto.

Tsunade finished and saw the grin on Naruto's face. "I see you still like it."

Naruto nodded and was about to put the mask on, when he noticed two letters scratched into the back side of the mask, just above the openings for his eyes. _U.I._ It said, wondering what it could possibly stand for, Naruto made a mental note to think about it later. He had a favour to ask of the Hokage. He needed to see a file on a massacre and a certain clan and find out whether his new informant was telling the truth.

* * *

><p>Three hours later, Naruto was lying on Kakashi's couch, but sleep wouldn't come. His mind was racing. Itachi had not lied to him, when he had said that everything wasn't as it seemed. The Uchiha had been ordered to kill his entire clan by the Elders of Konoha.<p>

Different emotions were churning inside of the blond. First there was the inability to understand how anyone could kill his whole family. Naruto had never had a family and thus the pure thought of killing his precious people was revolting to him. How could Itachi go through with it? Because his clansmen were traitors? Naruto was trying very hard to imagine whether he could have put the welfare of the whole village over his own family. He doubted it, but in the end, he couldn't say. After all, he never had a family, so he wouldn't know how it must feel. At least that was what Sasuke had accused him of, of not understanding his pain, because he never knew the love of a family. What would have happened if Itachi had not killed his clan? Would the Uchiha have taken over Konoha? But what were their plans? And would Sasuke still be in Konoha? Naruto had no answers. Realizing that thinking about it was futile, he closed his eyes and forced himself to sleep.

* * *

><p>Shikamaru, Neji and Kiba were tree-jumping through the forests surrounding Konoha. They were supposed to meet their mysterious new captain today. Said captain had given orders for them to meet him – or her – in a clearing, quite a few miles a way from the village itself. So far, the boys didn't know why.<p>

It was early morning and the air was still a little cold from the night. Shikamaru's feet hit a branch, he pushed himself off, flying towards the next branch.

After four weeks of constant training with Neji and Kiba during the mornings and ANBU training with Kakashi during the afternoons, the young Nara was feeling better than ever. Even though the training had been as troublesome as he had predicted, the young Nara also had to admit that he had definitely liked it. By now, he was openly curious about the new captain and whatever mission it was they were sent on.

Flexing his knees, he landed on another branch for a mere second, before jumping on again. It was funny how he felt so much more alive after the intense training. He felt more energetic and it happened less frequently that he wished he was cloud-watching instead of training. His new ANBU uniform felt good on him, although the tanto strapped to his hip was still an unfamiliar weight. Also he still winced whenever he felt chakra running through the ANBU tattoo on his left upper arm, indicating that the Hokage wanted to see him. The mask on his face was new as well. It would take some time getting used to wearing it all the time, but it was less troublesome than he had thought at first.

Neji stopped before him, dropping down to the ground. They had arrived in the clearing. The three young men walked into the open field, the grass under their feet was still wet with dew.

There was no sign of their new captain.

"Where is the guy?", Kiba mouthed what all three were thinking.

"He is not here yet, Kiba, be patient", Neji reasoned in his calm voice.

"Thank you, Mr. Obvious", Kiba glared at the slightly taller teen, but the effect was lost thanks to the Bear mask on his face.

"Calm down, Kiba", Shikamaru tried to silence the impulsive Inuzuka.

Kiba muttered something under his breath, but otherwise kept quiet.

The three were watching the surrounding tree lines, searching for any sign of their captain.

Very slowly, fog started rising from the ground. They didn't seem to notice it at first, but eventually the tree lines vanished from sight, swallowed by the dense, white fog.

"Guys, what's going on?", Kiba whispered.

Shikamaru looked around. This fog didn't seem natural to him. "Neji, what do you see?"

Neji immediately activated his Byakugan, which he was about to do anyway. The veins around his pale, pupil-less eyes protruded prominently. With the x-ray vision of 360 degrees, he scanned their surroundings. "There's chakra in the fog, I can hardly see through it", the Hyuuga announced, staring on ahead into the fog.

Shikamaru took in the information. So he had been right, this fog was not a natural occurrence. "Kiba, do you smell anything?"

The Inuzuka was already sniffing next to him. "No, it's like the fog swallows all scents. It makes hearing more difficult, too."

Shikamaru was about to ask another question – when it _hit_ them.

A killing intent of the likes they had never felt before.

All of them gasped at the oppressive feeling. It was so powerful, breathing became hard. Akamaru whined pitifully, flattening himself to the ground, crawling closer to Kiba.

"W-What...?", Kiba whispered, going down on one knee due to the sheer power directed at them.

Shikamaru gulped. He shut his eyes fiercely, trying to shake off the feeling of death. The killing intent was so thick in the air, it felt like it was crawling over his skin, groping for him.

His eyes shot open at the sound of both Kiba and Neji sucking in a sharp breath. He looked up and fiercely wished he had not opened them again.

There, looming over them, stood a giant fox with red-orange fur and dangerous, blood-red eyes. Its nine tails were massive, cutting through the fog.

The three ANBU stared up at the massive monster. There was no doubt about what they were facing. Everyone in Konoha learned about the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, the Kyuubi no Yoko, who had attacked the village almost seventeen years ago.

"Neji", Shikamaru whispered through gritted teeth, his voice hoarse from fear, "is it an illusion?"

Neji had not deactivated his Byakugan, so he was staring at the beast – and he saw its chakra pathways. This was no illusion. "No", Neji forced out, destroying Shikamaru's hope.

The fox took a step closer, the earth shaking under his feet. The sudden movement shook the three somewhat out of their fear-induced stupor and they jumped backwards, getting farther away from the monster.

Shikamaru was working furiously on coming up with a plan. He was the team's strategist after all, but for once, his mind seemed to be utterly empty. He knew he couldn't use his shadow-based techniques on the fox. The demon would probably laugh at the pitiful display and shake off the controlling shadows with ease. No, he would only waste chakra, if he tried attacking like that.

"Kiba", the Nara whispered to his team mate, "attack him with your _Gatsuga_!"_ (4)_

Kiba glanced at the whining Akamaru. "Come on, man", he said, trying to coax the large dog into attacking. But it was no use, the dog was too afraid of the demon, his tail tucked in between his legs. "Coward", Kiba barked, but his voice was so small and shaky, it betrayed his own terror.

Neji stepped forward, falling into his Juuken stance. "I'll try to hit it with my _Hakke Kusho_", _(5)_ the brunette said, jumping towards the fox.

With his hand bent at the wrist, Neji pushed his arm forward with a high-speed palm thrust, releasing a vacuum-bullet at the monster, attacking it from a relatively safe distance.

Shikamaru watched, holding his breath, as the attack hit the fox straight in the face. The beast roared, throwing his head back as if in pain, but then – it vanished into thin air, 'poofing' out of existence.

Surprised silence spread over the clearing. Simultaneously, the three boys released the breath each of them had been holding. Kiba and Shikamaru shared a confused glance behind Neji's back. What happened?

Before any of them could speak, a figure appeared in the last wafts of mist, walking towards them. Red chakra billowed around the person, manifesting like a cloak, surrounding the whole body.

The figure came closer and Shikamaru and Kiba quickly stood beside Neji.

Shikamaru saw messy blond hair moving around the figure's head. Three dark whisker-marks were standing out against the tanned skin, visible even against the chakra's red haze. Shikamaru looked up into the person's eyes, expecting to meet ocean blue orbs, but instead, they were slitted and blood-red.

Neji stared at the approaching person. Something about the malevolent chakra felt familiar. He was sure he had felt the evil energy before. He had _fought_ this person before.

Kiba sniffed. He knew that person's smell. The fog was no longer hindering his senses and even through the dense cloak of evil chakra, he smelled a familiar scent.

"Naruto?", three male voices asked, astonished.

All of a sudden, the oppressive killing intent died and breathing became easier again. The red chakra around the person dissolved slowly, revealing a young man with sunny blond hair and ocean blue eyes. The boys took off their ANBU masks to get a better look on him.

"Hey guys", Naruto greeted, waving a hand at them, as if nothing had happened.

"What the hell, Naruto?", Kiba yelled, angrily throwing himself at the long-lost boy. He ducked, which sent Kiba flying over his head. He landed on all fours, but before Kiba attacked again, Akamaru gave a warning yelp.

Kiba looked at his dog, who was watching him with the pitiful expression still in his eyes.

"Maybe you should listen to your dog, Kiba, and not attack people who are stronger than you", Naruto said, smirking at the Inuzuka.

"You", Kiba growled, but stood up. Pointing at Naruto, he yelled, "What makes you think you can talk to me like that?"

Shikamaru sweat-dropped. Had the boy not just witnessed the same as him and Neji? And he had thought that the ANBU training had actually helped in reducing the Inuzuka's impulsiveness.

The blond coolly smirked at his old class mate. "I", he started, "am your new captain. Show some respect, dog-breath."

This made Kiba shut up. He blinked at the younger boy in front of him. _He _was their mysterious new captain, who had requested them?

Neji stepped closer to Naruto, giving a small bow. "Uzumaki Naruto, it is an honour to work with you", the Hyuuga said in his deep voice, startling the blond. He blinked, not knowing how to react. He had not expected this from Neji. The last time he had faced The Hyuuga, it was during the fight of the chuunin exams and Naruto had beaten his ass and thoroughly insulted his lifestyle and his belief in fate while doing so.

"Um", he mumbled unintelligently, looking away from Neji's pale-eyed gaze.

Shikamaru watched the other boy. He had spent a lot of time thinking about him during his absence and now he was finally back. He had many questions for him, but those had to wait.

He strolled closer and stopped in front of Naruto. He had grown a lot, now easily on the same eye level as himself. Freeing a hand from his pocket, he placed it on the younger teen's shoulder. "Naruto", he said, no trace of his usual lazy drawl in his voice. The blond stared back at him with his ocean blue eyes.

Naruto saw the waiting questions in Shikamaru's gaze. He had not forgotten that the Nara had rescued him from the beating over three years ago. Maybe he was still owing him an answer.

"It's good to see you back", Shikamaru smiled, letting his hand fall off Naruto's shoulder.

"Ne, guys", Kiba spoke up once more, "am I the only one wondering what the hell just happened?" He stared back and forth between them.

Naruto sighed. He needed to explain himself; and so he did. He had planned the first meeting with his team mates like this, because he needed to see how they were going to react to the demon. So he had created a shadow clone, which had then henged into the Kyuubi. The resulting monster was not nearly as massive as the original one in Naruto's mindscape, but he didn't want the whole of Konoha to see the fox clone and alarm everyone. That was also why he had chosen a meeting point so far away from the village.

"I needed to see, if you can handle a killing intent so powerful or if you'd cower away, unable to think from fear", Naruto explained, "because it is highly unlikely that you will ever encounter someone with killing intent more potent than mine."

The boys looked at him and once again it was Kiba, who asked the obvious question. "Why would your killing intent be stronger than anyone else's? I mean, it was super damn strong, I was sure I was going to die", the wild-looking boy admitted without shame, "But why? And why did you use the freaking Kyuubi?"

Shikamaru regarded his new captain expectantly. Why _had _he used the Kyuubi? Only as a means to create immense fear? He remembered how the people in the village hated Naruto and how they called him a demon; how he had found him getting beaten and the man telling Naruto to die. He noticed the pained look in Naruto's eyes and suddenly all the pieces fit together.

Naruto braced himself. He could feel Shikamaru's intelligent eyes on him. He had figured it out. But to the blond's surprise, he didn't say anything, but kept staring at him, waiting for Naruto to tell them his secret. He respected Shikamaru for it, so he took a deep breath and for the first time in his life, Naruto willingly revealed his secret.

"The Kyuubi is sealed within me since the day I was born."

A stunned silence followed his words. Naruto's voice had been cold and emotionless as he had said it, but inside, the boy was more than nervous. How would they react? Would they hate him just like the villagers? He was angry at himself for his insecurity, but if those three wouldn't want to team up with him, he'd probably have to pursue his plans alone.

Yet again, Kiba was the first to talk. "So you mean the demon wasn't killed by the Yondaime?"

"No", Naruto shook his head, still not looking at any of the boys. "The Fourth wasn't able to kill it, so instead he sealed it in a newborn baby, turning me into a Jinchuuriki."

Neji intently watched his new captain. He couldn't begin to imagine how hard Naruto's life must have been so far. He knew how it was to live with a seal, being looked down upon. But his burden of the caged bird seal suddenly looked like joke in front of what Naruto must've lived through. And coming out like this was indeed a wonder.

Since none of the boys said anything, Naruto nervously looked up. Seeing their thoughtful expressions, he steeled himself and asked his last question.

"So, knowing that I'm the Kyuubi, are you still willing to accept me as your captain?", again his voice didn't betray his emotions. Naruto now stared at the boys, inwardly dreading their answer.

Shikamaru sighed lazily. "I can tell already, it's going to be very troublesome, but why not."

Naruto turned his head to look at him. His words may not have sounded very enthusiastic, but his eyes told him that he could count on him. Being an ANBU seemed to have changed the lazy heir.

"I say it again, Naruto-san, it's an honour to work with you", Neji said, giving him a gentle and reassuring smile.

"Ne", Kiba huffed, shrugging and rolling his eyes, "I said I won't ever lose to you again, Naruto, so I won't chicken out now, you hear me?"

Neji chuckled at his team mate and spoke quietly. "Kiba, you do realize that you kind of already lost to him, right? He's our new captain."

Kiba huffed, seeing the logic, and shook his fist at Neji.

Naruto suddenly felt like a huge weight was lifted off of him. He had his team. The three had accepted him, even though they knew about his tenant. It was not the whole village acknowledging him yet, but it was a very good start.

Feeling more light-hearted than in a long time, he thanked the guys with a foxy grin.

"Naruto", Shikamaru spoke up, not able to wait with his questions, "why did you specifically _request_ us?"

Naruto smiled an empty smile and started to explain. "I need a multifunctional team; one that is not only specialized in tracking for example. So I chose each of you, because of your abilities."

He turned to Kiba. "Well, I chose you, Kiba, for your abilities in tracking. We will have to do quite a lot of that in the future, I'm afraid. Even though my sense of smell and hearing is excellent as well, Akamaru will be a great help. Besides, your clan techniques are mainly offensive and mid- to long-range techniques. We will need that, too."

Kiba looked very pleased with himself after Naruto finished and he winked at Akamaru.

Naruto turned to Neji. "Neji, your Byakugan will also help in tracking, especially if we need to observe closed buildings for example. Your Gentle Fist Taijutsu is mainly close-ranged and very powerful. Everyone knows that you're an excellent shinobi, but I also chose you because of your knowledge about the human body and the chakra system. I suppose learning medical jutsus from Tsunade-baachan was easy for you, right?"

Neji nodded, it had indeed been not as difficult as he had first assumed. His perfect chakra control and the Byakugan had helped him a lot. Of course, he was not nearly on the level of Sakura, who had been the Hokage's apprentice for almost three years, but he would be able to heal most of the wounds.

Shikamaru watched as Naruto turned to him. He was quite curious to hear what the other boy was going to say about him. "You probably think that the most important reason why I chose you, is your intelligence and your incredible strategical skills", Naruto began, looking at him. "Well, it _is_ one of the reasons."

Shikamaru sweat-dropped. "But", Naruto went on, "I also need you because of your shadow-based techniques. We need someone, who is able to restrain an opponent. I had first thought of someone who knows genjutsu, but there was no one available, so we will have to do with your shadow binding techniques."

How had the blond managed to praise the other two like that, but Shikamaru only got this? Seeing how his face fell, Naruto quickly went on. "Don't get me wrong, Shika, it's not like you're second choice. Actually, you will play one of the most important parts."

Shikamaru listened, dreading to find out what his task was going to be. It was probably going to be troublesome anyway, so he stopped hoping.

"Without your strategies, this whole endeavour won't work." Shikamaru sweat-dropped once again, so it was back to him being used for his intelligence. Well, he could live with that. It wasn't that troublesome after all.

Apparently finished with his explanation, Shikamaru marvelled at how Naruto had thought about each of them. He saw why he had Neji learn medical jutsu and Kiba's new sensory type jutsu would come in handy as well. Whatever Naruto had in mind, it seemed to be rather extensive.

"So, Naruto", Kiba chimed in, "since when are you back?"

Naruto thought about it. "Well, I returned for the first time six weeks ago, but left the next day again. Then I came back after four weeks, in which I trained with Anko-sensei. Well, and then I had to leave again on a mission – which was actually a test – a week ago and now I finally returned completely."

Kiba blinked, not completely following Naruto's explanation, but he caught the word 'test' and asked the boy about it.

"It was a test disguised as a mission. I had to pass it, so Tsunade-baachan could promote me to ANBU captain", the blond answered.

"Wait, you've been captain for only a week?", Kiba sputtered.

"Well, technically, it has been only two days so far", Naruto said, rubbing his head sheepishly.

"Tche, not fair! Why didn't they make me captain?", Kiba wondered aloud, but at the deadpan expressions on the others' faces, he started to pout.

"I've also just recently joined ANBU, Kiba, so stop sulking", Shikamaru drawled lazily, rolling his eyes at his old friend.

"By the way, Shikamaru", Naruto addressed him. "What animal did you get?", he wanted to know, referring to Nara's ANBU mask.

At that Kiba started laughing, pointing at the Nara. Shikamaru only sighed, taking his mask off his belt and put it on.

"It's an _owl_!", Kiba laughed, apparently highly amused about it.

Naruto looked at the mask. It had a beak and black lines around the eyes, which looked like feathery eyebrows. But he saw it.

"Huh, and I thought they'd give you a sloth mask", Naruto said matter-of-factly, which made Kiba laugh even harder and Neji smirk.

Shikamaru took off the mask again, attaching it to his belt. "I don't see what's so funny about it, Kiba", the Nara said, sounding a little offended and irritated.

Kiba, getting his breathing under control, looked at his friend. "Man, we're ANBU, we're supposed to be _dangerous_. Look at me and Neji! He got a Tiger mask and I got a Bear mask. Hello? We are _dangerous_ and _strong_." Naruto's eyes widened at Kiba's reasoning and Shikamaru huffed. "An owl is just not dangerous, man", Kiba finished and barked another laugh.

"The Owl mask represents my intelligence. Owls have always been a symbol of wisdom", he defended himself.

"Yes, like I said, _really _dangerous", Kiba laughed at his explanation.

The Nara ignored the foolish Inuzuka and looked expectantly at Naruto. "What animal did you get?", he asked him.

Liking his own mask, Naruto freed it from his belt and put it on. A moment of contemplating silence followed.

Then Kiba burst out laughing again.

"What the hell, Kiba?", Naruto yelled, surprised at the reaction. Well, he hadn't recognized the animal his mask was representing at first glance either, but now, knowing it, it was easy to see.

"It's a _skunk!_", Kiba roared, pointing at Naruto's face.

"WHAT?", Naruto screamed at him, some of his old temper showing through, "It's not a skunk!"

Looking for help at the other two boys, the blond saw Shikamaru smirk. Forgotten was his supposedly not 'dangerous enough' animal. "Well, Naruto", the Nara began, "it has small ears... and those whisker-like markings around on the cheeks... It _could_ be a skunk, you know."

Naruto glared at him. _Traitor,_ he mouthed at the pineapple-haired boy, who suddenly wished he had not said anything.

"It's a _weasel_, idiots!", Naruto declared, huffing and crossing his arms over his chest defensively.

Kiba was still laughing. "And how is a weasel supposed to be better than a skunk?"

"A weasel is an agile and swift animal", Neji came to Naruto's help, "it is flexible and a very skilful hunter."

"See, dog-breath", Naruto said, sounding pleased.

"Hum", Shikamaru mused, "but why didn't you get a fox mask, Naruto?"

Kiba shot an incredulous look at the other brunette. "Tche, Shika, wouldn't that have been super obvious, considering that he's the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki?"

Shikamaru saw the logic and just shrugged.

"And I thought _I'm_ supposed to be the idiot here", Kiba mumbled, shaking his head.

Neji watched his new team. These were the people with whom he was going to spend most of his future time. Even though Naruto seemed to be quite energetic, there was a feeling hanging over him, that he couldn't exactly pinpoint. He was joking with Kiba, teasing Shikamaru and giving his foxy grin, but something had changed. Whilst he didn't know the boy as well as Shikamaru and Kiba did, Neji saw the sadness behind the blond's smiles and the slight frown on his brow. Like all Hyuuga, Neji was extremely good in reading people and interpreting their body language; so he easily recognized the changes. The hyperactive, carefree blond, that had defeated him during the chuunin exams, had grown up. Behind the playful banter with the Inuzuka, he saw a more serious, more mature version of Naruto. But why had he lost his smile? Was it thanks to Sasuke's defection? Neji saw a headache coming on and to say it in the Nara's words, Neji assumed whatever they were going to do, was probably going to be troublesome. Which reminded him...

"Naruto-san", the composed Hyuuga started, "this all sounds very interesting, but what exactly are we going to do?"

At that, all eyes turned on Naruto. The young man blinked at them and suddenly his face lit up.

"We, gentlemen", he said and flashed them a very feral grin that sent shivers down their backs, "go Akatsuki hunting."

* * *

><p><em>(1) <em>Ninpo: Choju Giga:_ Ninja Art: Super Beast Imitation Picture._

_(2) _Kawarimi no Jutsu:_ Body Replacement Technique._

_(3) _Gogyo Fuin:_ Five Elements Seal; is used to block or disturb the flow of chakra in the target's body. (Orochimaru used it on Naruto in the Forest of Death to lock away the Kyuubi's chakra)_

_(4) _Gatsuga:_ Man-Beast Taijutsu: Fang over Fang: Kiba and Akamaru spin very speedily; the force of the attack is strong enough to drill through stone; mid to long-range jutsu._

Hakke Kusho:_ Eight Trigrams Air Palm: the user precisely pinpoints the enemy's vital points with the Byakugan and releases a high-speed palm thrust; a "vacuum shell" compressed using the Gentle Fist is formed to attack the opponent's vitals from a distance, blowing them off their feet with tremendous force before they even notice they were hit._

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><p><strong>The author says:<strong>

**Pheeew, long read... so now you're either bored or hopefully happy about the fact that I finally revealed who is in Naruto's team. (Although it was quite obvious, wasn't it?)**

**Next chapter: Naruto is going to meet his old class mates. How will they react to him and what will Konoha say? What about Sasuke, how is he faring? And why is Itachi doing in Naruto's apartment? Questions upon questions ;)**

**So, did you like it? And Naruto's further plan? Tell me what you think and feel free to criticize me!**

**Over and out,**

**xXHaneliXx**


	10. Chapter 10

**The author says: **Hello everyone! Here's chapter 10 for you!

_**Please don't get confused, but maybe you noticed, but I changed the name of the story from 'He had no idea SasuNaruSasu' to only 'He had no idea', because the pairing in the title looked stupid. I also changed the summary in hopes that this story will get more attention from now on.**_

Thanks to everyone who reviewed and of course also to everyone else for reading!

Have fun reading the new chapter!

**I do not own Naruto!**

* * *

><p><strong>'He had no idea'<strong>

**Chapter 10**

* * *

><p><em><strong>I'm coming home<br>I'm coming home  
>tell the World I'm coming home<br>Let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday  
>I know my kingdom awaits and they've forgiven my mistakes<br>I'm coming home, I'm coming home  
>tell the World that I'm coming<strong>_

_**- **_**'Coming Home' by Diddy-Dirty Money feat. Skylar Grey**

* * *

><p>"<em>Naruto-san," the composed Hyuuga started, "this all sounds very interesting, but what exactly are we going to do?"<em>

_At that, all eyes turned to Naruto. The boy blinked at them and suddenly his face lit up._

"_We, gentlemen," he said and flashed them a very feral grin that sent shivers down their backs, "go Akatsuki hunting."_

A stunned silence followed Naruto's words.

Shikamaru and Neji's eyes widened, not quite believing what Naruto had just said. _Akatsuki hunting?_ As in, trying to catch and defeat the supposedly strongest organization of criminal rogue ninja _ever_? The ones who were after the Jinchuuriki, such as Naruto himself?

Before the two brunettes could voice their questions, Kiba broke the silence. "Aka-_what_?"

Shikamaru and Neji sweat-dropped at their team mate's lack of knowledge. They all had been briefed on the Akatsuki in ANBU. There was not one ANBU, who didn't know about them... Or apparently there _was_ a single one.

Neji finally supplied an answer for the ignorant Inuzuka. "The Akatsuki, Kiba-san. An organization of S-rank missing-nin. And in fact the most wanted group in the shinobi world. We don't know much about them so far, but apparently they are after the Bijuu."

At Kiba's blank face, Neji quickly went on, trying hard to keep his famous patience. "The Bijuu, Kiba-san. The Tailed Beasts, such as the Kyuubi. They were sealed in children and the Akatsuki want to extract them. For what reason exactly, we don't know yet, but it can't be good."

Naruto rolled his eyes at Kiba. "Man, dog-breath, you better pay attention from now on or I'll replace you before you know it!"

Kiba huffed, but quickly muttered something about just having forgotten about it.

"So, Naruto," Shikamaru addressed their new captain, "how would we hunt them? I mean, no one knows where they are or when they will strike. It's not like we have any useful knowledge about them."

Naruto smirked at the boys. "That's where you're wrong, Shika. Fortunately, someone is providing me with very useful insider information on the members of Akatsuki and their plans."

The Nara frowned. "Who would be able to offer insider information on them, except for a current or former member?"

Naruto's face returned to a serious expression. He was about to tell his team who his new informant was. Hopefully they would take it better than Tsunade and Jiraiya. Both were not pleased about the idea, to say the least. Although they had found out about Itachi's true role in the Uchiha Massacre, they were suspicious of him and didn't like it at all that Naruto had accepted his wish to help him rescue Sasuke. Naruto wasn't too sure about the whole idea of rescuing Sasuke either, but he had made a deal with the older Uchiha and hence would not go back on his word. Itachi had promised to give him information at least once a month and their meeting had been over six weeks ago already. He was only two weeks late, but still, a tiny spark of doubt was growing in Naruto; which made him wonder whether Itachi would keep his side of the bargain. But on the other hand, if he didn't, Naruto would not help him get back Sasuke and the older Uchiha had seemed just too desperate to throw away this chance. So he'd wait.

"It is a current member," Naruto revealed and the boys' eyes widened. Konoha had not much knowledge on the Akatsuki and up to now they only knew of Orochimaru as a former member and Uchiha Itachi and his partner Hoshigaki Kisame as current members. Assuming that Naruto had no contact to Itachi's fishy partner, it left the Uchiha himself as the only possible informant.

"Uchiha Itachi," Shikamaru said quietly in realization, the frown deepening on his irritated face.

Naruto nodded in confirmation and three very questioning pair of eyes focused on him.

"Why would you trust a traitor, Naruto?", Kiba asked curiously, but uncharacteristically serious. Whatever he might think of Naruto, he was sure that the boy would never trust the man who was responsible for his best friend's misery and his consuming thirst for revenge.

The blond then told them of his encounter with the Uchiha six weeks ago and also of Itachi's mission to kill his clan. He left out that he had agreed to helping him, but Shikamaru was too sharp and realized that the Uchiha would not offer information like that for nothing.

"What does he want from you in return, Naruto?", he asked suspiciously, his intelligent eyes on the blond captain.

Said captain averted his eyes and lowered his head. He didn't know why, but somehow Naruto didn't want to see the expression on their faces when he mentioned Sasuke.

"I promised to help him rescue Sasuke." His voice didn't betray any emotion of how he might feel about that promise, but Neji was skilled enough in reading people's body language that he realized that Naruto didn't feel comfortable about the promise. Even though Naruto's eyes were looking at the ground, Neji saw the slightest shifts of his feet and the tiniest movements of muscles on his face. Naruto was obviously still affected greatly by Sasuke's betrayal. Just thinking about the other boy seemed to trouble him.

Sharing a knowing glance with Shikamaru and shooting a warning one at Kiba, Neji cleared his throat and tried to distract Naruto's thoughts from his former best friend. "So, about the information...?" he trailed off, waiting for the blond to catch on.

Naruto's head shot up, forcing his attention back to the conversation, he told them about the contents of Itachi's first scroll. Up to this point, they knew about all the members, their partners and specialisation. It was not much, but at least a start. To actually start hunting them down, they relied on Itachi's next information. Until then, they'd have to train and probably go on other missions. The other three boys had had the time to build up their team work for a whole month, but none of them had worked with Naruto yet. In order to be efficient and successful with their plan, they needed to be prepared and able to rely on each other unhesitatingly.

"So..." Naruto began, "Now that you know what we're going to do and that it's without a doubt going to be quite dangerous... Are you still with me?"

His blue eyes calmly regarded the boys. This was their last chance to chicken out. They might have agreed to working with him after finding out that he was a demon container, but he couldn't take it for granted that they'd risk their lives on missions that promised to be rather reckless and adventurous.

Shikamaru once called himself 'the number one in running away'. He had preferred his lazy lifestyle, watching clouds, sleeping in class and spending his days with his best friend Chouji. He had avoided everything that looked to be troublesome. But right now the thought of running away from this task didn't even cross his mind for a mere millisecond. He had no doubt that the word _troublesome _could by no means come close to what was waiting for them. Moreover, there was a high probability that they lost their lives fighting S-rank missing-nin.

Shikamaru was aware of the fact that all of their skills and abilities had improved tremendously – and he had not yet seen Naruto in action – but they were mere teenagers. Not in their dreams could they measure up to the battle experience of the Akatsuki members. They would be outclassed, beyond doubt. But with enough information on the group and knowing all about their secret techniques and tactics, they were able to meet them on even terms. It all depended on their own strategies. And Shikamaru would make sure that those were going to be foolproof – or at least as foolproof as strategies against criminal S-rank shinobi could be.

"It can't be helped," the pineapple-haired Nara drawled, "but I guess you need me and my brain. I won't let you kill yourself just because you lack a proper plan, you know."

Kiba rolled his eyes at the genius. "Geez, Shika, the brains you have went to your head!" he teased and added, "You wouldn't survive two minutes without me and Akamaru!"

Naruto took his boastful words as his way of saying that he would join them. He focused on the Hyuuga, who was the last to answer.

"I called you a failure once, Naruto-san," he began in his serious but gentle voice, a tone of regret and maybe shame in it, "but you showed me that fate is not everything and that one can fight against his destiny. You made the impossible possible, a failure like you defeating a prodigy like me." His pale eyes shone with respect for the blond boy.

"If anyone can take down the Akatsuki, I believe it is _you_, Naruto-san," he finished almost solemnly and Naruto felt a blush creep on his cheeks.

Unconsciously, he rubbed the back of his head, feeling a bit awkward and embarrassed about the confidence the Hyuuga had in him. Neji gently smiled at him, which made Naruto turn his head away, only to meet the sight of Kiba's cocky grin and Shikamaru's amused smirk. Naruto felt a grin tug at the corner of his lips.

"Thanks, guys," he said in a serious tone, wanting the three to know how much he appreciated their answers.

Naruto let the grin split his face in two and suddenly he felt like he could take on the whole world right this minute. Naruto now definitely had his team.

* * *

><p>Having cleared up the most important questions, said newly formed team made its way back to Konoha; their ANBU masks back over their faces and Naruto's hood hiding his blond hair once again. It was still before noon and Naruto had a lot to do today. He was going to make it publicly known that the demon brat was back in Konoha. Or so he had planned.<p>

Before the four went their own ways, Kiba declared that Naruto needed to meet their old friends as soon as possible. "I'll tell the others to meet us tonight at Ichiraku's ramen, alright Naruto? You still love ramen, don't you?"

Naruto blinked stupidly. _Ramen?_ "I... I don't like ramen any more...," he breathed, stating this fact aloud for the first time. It felt still weird to him that he had lived without ramen for the last three years.

Somehow Naruto's lust for ramen had vanished. It was not that he really didn't like it any more, but it was rather the fact that someday, his beloved ramen had lost its appeal. Ramen had been a constant in his life on which he had been able to rely on. It was the cheapest food for him to buy, but also he had truly loved and enjoyed it. The delicious taste of the salty noodles had somehow comforted him, eased his mind when the pressure of Konoha's hatred was becoming too much to bear. But then, one day – and he denied to connect the date to Sasuke's defection – ramen had lost its ability to comfort him. Salty noodles were just that – salty noodles; no more hidden consolation in a bowl of ramen.

"Um...," Kiba mouthed, unsure of this new development, "would you prefer barbecue?"

"Sure, why not," Naruto agreed and Kiba told them that he'd tell the others to meet them tonight at the barbecue restaurant. He wanted to surprise the others with Naruto's return and the boy was so enthusiastic about it that Naruto couldn't object.

Kiba and Neji said good-bye and jumped away, but Shikamaru hesitated. The huge gates of Konoha were looming up in front of them, but before he parted from Naruto, the Nara heir wanted to ask the blond some more questions.

Sensing that his new team mate wasn't satisfied yet, Naruto looked at him through the holes of his Weasel mask. "You won't leave it alone, will you?" Naruto sighed, looking away from him, not waiting for his answer. He knew it; Shikamaru certainly was persistent. "Just pick me up tonight for dinner, alright?"

Shikamaru nodded in agreement. He had waited with these questions for over three years, some more hours wouldn't make a difference.

* * *

><p>Naruto changed back from the ANBU uniform into his normal clothes in Kakashi's apartment. The jounin was not at home right now; apparently, he had to go on a mission once in a while, too.<p>

The blond gathered his few belongings and exited through the front door. The beloved hood was hiding his features and his blue eyes. Heh told himself that he'd remove the hood as soon as he was downstairs on the street. After all, he wanted the people to know that he was back... right? And no one knew that he was now wearing the standard jounin outfit. The civilians would never connect the loud-mouthed child Naruto to the serious young man he now was. But the hair, eyes and whisker-marks would give him away.

Stepping onto the street in front of the apartment complex Kakashi lived in, Naruto shot glances to the right an left, but the street was empty. He started to walk in the direction of his own apartment. After some minutes of walking alone, his hand reached up, intending to push back the hood. His fingers were already touching the smooth black cloth, when suddenly a civilian woman with her daughter turned around the corner, walking straight towards Naruto. He let go of the hood as if it was on fire. His hand dropped back to his side; the hood stayed in place.

Naruto felt his heart racing. What was going on with him? Was he truly that afraid of confronting the villagers? Everything had gone so well this morning with the guys, better than he had dared to imagine. Why was it so hard for him to show his face now? Was his fear so great? The villagers had no idea of the power they had over him. Which was definitely better this way. Ashamed of himself for his weakness, he took to roof-jumping, cutting short the walk to his apartment, never shedding the hood.

The blond let out a shaky breath as he came to stop in front of the red door of his apartment. It looked even more shabby than he remembered. He took out the rusty key he hadn't used in over three years. The lock protested for a second, but finally the door swung open.

Naruto stepped into the sad room of an apartment. Expecting clouds of dust and musty air, he was quite surprised when he was greeted by clean floors, a freshly made bed and no visible spider webs. Someone had been in here.

Suspicious, Naruto listened carefully for a hidden attacker. He sweat-dropped a little at his own behaviour. No one could hide in a one-room-apartment with a dingy bed, a small dresser and the small kitchen as pretty much the only furniture. He didn't sense any presence hiding in the tiny bathroom either, so there was really no one trying to ambush him. And why would anyone trying to ambush him clean his apartment beforehand?

Closing the door behind him, Naruto's eyes fell on a note pinned to the door from the inside.

_Naruto,_

_I thought you might want to come back to a clean apartment. I hope you don't mind, but I sent a genin team to take care of it this morning. (Don't worry, they have no idea who lives here and I threatened them thoroughly, so I don't think they stole anything. Not that there is anything one might steel from you anyway...)_

_You're welcome at my place any time, should you feel like visiting your old sensei!_

– _Kakashi_

_P.S.: Sorry, but there wasn't really anything except for orange bed sheets._

Naruto chuckled softy at the random note. Although he didn't like the thought of having strangers in his apartment at all, he still appreciated the gesture; it was really kind of nice. In a Kakashi kind of way.

He threw his worn back pouch onto the freshly made bed. The sheets were indeed a bright orange. It reminded him of the child he had been three years ago; trying to attract attention at all costs. Today, he definitely preferred more subdued colours. However, he did neither have the money to buy something as unimportant as new sheets, nor did he care enough. They were only sheets after all. He would have to patch the holes in the future, though.

Naruto sat on the orange bed and it creaked heavily under his weight. The mattress was so thin and shabby that he could feel the broken frame through it. The blond boy let out a weary breath. Even sleeping on Kakashi's couch – no, even sleeping on the ground in the forest – had been more comfortable than this sorry excuse of a bed. Maybe he should move to the floor?

His eyes wandered over the small kitchen unit, where he had prepared endless bowls of instant ramen. His cooking skills were pretty much non-existent, the only things he had ever succeeded in were pouring milk over cereals and heating the instant cups of ramen in the old microwave. The fridge was probably empty and the cupboard full of forgotten instant ramen cups. But gone was his craving for ramen; which meant that in the future, he probably needed to learn how to cook properly.

His eyes fell on the dresser opposite of the bed, next to the door to the bathroom. He had never owned many clothes and when he had left with Jiraiya, he had taken most of them with him. It was probably empty except for some holey socks.

He looked down at the nightstand next to him. There stood the picture of the old Team Seven. He hadn't felt like taking it with him when he left, but neither did he have the heart to throw it away.

Naruto grabbed the picture frame and stared at it. Sakura in the middle, smiling, happy about being placed on a team with her precious Sasuke-kun. Kakashi, patting his and Sasuke's heads, smiling his famous one-eyed smile. His blond self, glancing at Sasuke, his rival; the envious look in his blue eyes spoke volumes. Sasuke... a broody and rather unhappy look on his face. Naruto sighed. Had Sasuke already been thinking about leaving Konoha back then? But no, it wouldn't make sense. It was only after Orochimaru put the Cursed Seal on him during the Chuunin Exams that Sasuke's need for revenge and power reached an unhealthy level.

Shaking off the depressing thoughts, the blond opened the top drawer of the nightstand to hide the photograph, when his eyes fell on a long-forgotten Konoha forehead protector. He pulled the drawer out completely. The crossed out Konoha insignia glistened in the light, as if mocking him. It was Sasuke's old Hitai-ate; the one he had worn during their fight in the Valley of the End. With his free hand Naruto took it out. The dark blue cloth felt smooth under his fingers. He ran his thumb over the scratch he had created on it with his rasengan. This scratch was the only proof that he had been able to stand up to Sasuke – until he had shoved the chidori through his chest, aiming to kill. The proof for _that_ was the ugly scar right over his heart.

Suddenly angry, Naruto threw the picture and the headband into the drawer and shut it forcefully; the wooden nightstand shaking from the violent treatment.

Naruto leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. He buried his face in his hands, breathing in and out deeply, trying to get rid of the sudden whirl of emotions. What was wrong with him? Only earlier this morning, everything had been alright, more than that even. And now he was almost breaking down from taking a look at a freaking photograph? Kyuubi felt his distress and tried to force his chakra onto him. Shuddering from the effort to suppress the demon's evil intentions, Naruto clawed at the pain in his chest. Why was the dull ache hurting so much at times like these?

* * *

><p><strong>Five weeks earlier: somewhere in an underground lair in Otogakure<strong>

Sasuke lay panting on Orochimaru's bedroom floor.

He had succeeded. Orochimaru was dead and the Snake Sannin would never take over his body. Even though his sensei had been seriously weakened, the fight had taken its toll on the Uchiha.

Did he regret killing his sensei? _No, definitely not._ Sasuke had never felt any kind of attachment to the snaky bastard. He had been only another means to get stronger, to fuel his hatred. What would happen if word of Orochimaru's death reached the Elemental Nations? Would someone come after him? It actually surprised the raven a little that until now no one had tried to retrieve him again. But why was he expecting it anyway? Was it because he couldn't shake off the thought of a certain blond dobe? Very deep inside of him, Sasuke felt a tiny spark of disappointment that the boy had not tried to 'rescue' him again. Naruto had seemed to be so intent on bringing him back to Konoha during their fight. He had even cried, begged him to return home with him. But he had severed that bond... Had he actually been successful? Was that why no one was looking for him? Unconsciously, Sasuke's hand reached up to claw at his heart. The dull ache was pulsing through his chest, reminding him of too painful memories, buried deep inside of his avenger's heart. Why was the dull ache hurting so much at times like these?

Sasuke's breathing became less strained and he slowly lifted himself up to his feet. He grabbed his large chokuto from the ground and slit it back in the sheath strapped to his lower back. On slightly unsteady feet, he left the dark room. He had no time to lose.

His plan was simple. Kill Orochimaru and escape. He had not had much time to come up with it, so it was not really well thought-out. His dark eyes scanned his surroundings as he was walking through the corridors. Kabuto had left the hide-out to get new medicine for his master, but it was only a matter of time till he came back. And right now, Sasuke had to be realistic; normally, Kabuto was no match for him, but in his now weakened state, he needed to escape as quickly as possible.

But first he needed to get to the laboratories. He had decided on gathering a team for his next mission; which was finding Itachi and then killing him. But being chased by Oto-nin and possibly Kabuto himself, could prove more difficult than he anticipated. Crossing through a large hall, he opened a door, which led to Orochimaru's main lab.

Straightening up a little, the raven walked over to a water tank, in which Orochimaru kept one of his live experiments. A white-haired boy about his own age, regarded him curiously, as Sasuke stopped in front of him.

Sasuke wasn't really sure why he chose the boy to help him, but he had met him several times already and even though his belligerent attitude was annoying, Sasuke also knew that Hozuki Suigetsu was a skilled shinobi. So the boy would escape with him.

It was not that Sasuke felt pity to leave him behind, his intentions were purely self-serving. It would just be easier for him to escape the Land of Sound with a second person to help him defeat the ninja Kabuto would undoubtedly send after him.

Besides, Sasuke needed to admit to himself that he had no idea where to find his brother. He had to begin somewhere and again, having a second pair of eyes helping him, might prove useful. Furthermore, he was planning on assembling two more of Orochimaru's followers. A girl named Karin, who was a very skilled sensor and currently in charge of one of the Sannin's bases, and a man called Juugo, who was imprisoned in yet another base. He had met the three during his three years with Orochimaru and they were the most fitting for his plans. Besides, he was sure that they would follow him instead of Orochimaru.

Listening half-heartedly to Suigetsu's demand of retrieving some sword if Sasuke wanted him to follow him, Sasuke agreed, not really caring about it. He had no idea where to begin his search for his brother, so wherever they needed to go to get this sword, it was fine with him. But before they needed to escape and get the other two.

With a last glance at Orochimaru's laboratory, Sasuke and Suigetsu took off.

* * *

><p>Naruto didn't know how much time had passed, but since it was almost dark in his poor little room, it must've been several hours. Exhaling deeply, he ran a hand over his dry, burning eyes. He had been staring into his hands for hours, trying to make sense of all the emotional chaos inside of him.<p>

He got up from the bed, his legs and arms stiff from sitting slumped all day. He stretched his arms over his head, enjoying the feeling of his muscles relaxing. Switching on the small lamp on the nightstand – it was the only one that worked in the shabby apartment – he glanced at the watch on the wall. Realizing it was obviously broken, Naruto decided to take a quick shower before Shikamaru came to pick him up for meeting the others.

The tiny bathroom was cold, but Naruto didn't even think about turning on the heating – there was none. He undressed quickly and stepped into the shower. Ice cold water hit his body, causing him to gasp from the shock. How had he managed to forget that there was no hot water in his apartment? Trying his best to adjust to the chilling coldness, he washed and rinsed his messy blond hair as quickly as possible and hopped out of the shower. In the cupboard under the sink he found an old and thin orange towel. It was barely large enough to cover all important parts. He remembered how this towel had fallen down to his ankles when he was just a child. He had grown more than he realized.

Ignoring the dresser, Naruto went to his bed and took a scroll from out of his back pouch. Unsealing a new set of clothing, he dressed, when he felt a familiar chakra signature approaching. He walked over to the door to open it.

A pineapple-haired Nara stood in front of the door, his fist raised to knock. "Um, hi, Naruto," he said, lowering his hand.

Naruto ran a hand through his still wet hair and rubbed it with the orange towel in an attempt to get most of the water out of it. "Hey Shikamaru, just give me a second," he said and disappeared in the bathroom.

Shikamaru stared at the spot where Naruto had stood for a second. The young man was now wearing what looked like the standard jounin outfit, except for the fact that he was wearing a black tank top under the dark-green vest, instead of the longsleeve. His bare arms were muscular and tanned. Together with the shaggy blond hair of his, the ladies would love him.

Naruto came back, stepped out of his apartment and locked the door behind him. His hands shot up to pull the hood over his hair and eyes and he waved at Shikamaru, gesturing for him to take the lead.

The two walked in silence for some minutes. Naruto felt very self-conscious about being on the streets again.

Naruto saw Shikamaru opening and closing his mouth several times next to him, but no words came out. Finally, he turned to the brunette, "Just ask away, Shika, don't worry. If I don't want to answer, I just won't."

Encouraged by his words, the clan heir asked what Naruto had expected. "Three years ago, you know, when I found you being beaten... Was it because of..." he trailed off, gazing at Naruto's hidden face under the hood.

Naruto pulled it away enough for Shikamaru to see his eyes, but keeping his hair covered. "Because of the Kyuubi, you mean?" he finished for him, sighing. He had never talked about this to someone else of his age. "Yes," he whispered, an unreadable expression in his eyes.

"It was not the first time, was it?" Shikamaru whispered back, trying not to upset Naruto by bringing up obviously unwanted memories.

Naruto openly looked at him. What was he going to say? Deny it? Shikamaru was far too clever to believe his lies and besides, the other boy was for some unknown reason genuinely concerned about him. And he did rescue him back then. Somehow Naruto felt like he deserved to know the truth.

"No," the blond admitted, closing his eyes, "it wasn't."

Shikamaru watched the different emotions crossing over Naruto's face. He didn't need Neji's skills of reading people to see how much those memories pained Naruto. Living as a Jinchuuriki must have been even more difficult than he had dared to imagine.

"They hate me, Shika. All of them," Naruto whispered in a hollow voice that somehow was more painful to hear than an actual show of emotion. The blond looked at him. "The villagers despise me for having sealed the Kyuubi in me. I won't lie to you, because I know you won't accept it. But just please, don't feel pity for me!" His blue eyes were cold and daring Shikamaru to tell him he felt sorry for him. But Shikamaru knew better than to anger him now.

"Beatings were one of my lesser problems," he went on and shrugged, as if being beaten was indeed nothing. "They won't let me buy food or charge me twice the money for bad products. But you know... Someday they will stop seeing the demon in me and acknowledge me..."

Shikamaru saw the determination in Naruto's eyes, but there was insecurity in his voice and an almost longing tone to it. Naruto was obviously still dreaming of being recognized by the Konoha citizens and Shikamaru was unable to imagine how hard it must've been for him to grow up with the knowledge that the village he lived in hated him. He remembered how he had heard some of the civilians call Naruto a demon, telling him to die. What kind of person would do this to a helpless child? Shikamaru felt disgusted, knowing that he fought for those people everyday, risked his life for people, who had no qualms about beating up a child. A child without a family, with no one that cared about it. Shikamaru stared into Naruto's too blue eyes, which were silently pleading Shikamaru to tell him it was really going to happen one day; that the villagers would overcome their hatred one day. Was that why the child Naruto had so desperately tried to get everyone's attention? Why he had dreamed of becoming Hokage? Before Shikamaru knew it, the question had left his mouth.

"To become Hokage?" Naruto mused, "Well, it _was_ a dream once, but I don't think I want to be Hokage any more. There is so much else to do right now." _And it's very unlikely that the villagers will ever accept me as their leader, _he added silently.

Shikamaru sensed the unspoken words and saw the impassive acceptance in Naruto's gaze. It made him sad to see the blond boy so unlike his usual bubbly self, something like resignation in his eyes. But maybe Naruto had always been like this deep inside; no one could endure such a treatment completely unharmed after all.

"Like hunting the Akatsuki?" Shikamaru prompted, intently staring at him.

Naruto nodded. "You know, I just can't wait for them to attack me any moment, always trying to hide or run away. That's just not who I am."

His ocean blue eyes gazed at him, too many emotions in them for Shikamaru to comprehend them all. But a new sparkle lit up in them, reminding Shikamaru of the feral glow in them, the moment Naruto had told them about hunting down the members of the Akatsuki. Years before, one would see this glow in his eyes when he talked about becoming Hokage. His dream had apparently changed, but still, it was not less ambitious at all.

Shikamaru marvelled at Naruto's personal growth. The child Naruto would have been rambling by now, shouting about his dream and whatnot. But the young man in front of him was considerate and showing an intelligence that Shikamaru had never connected his younger self to. He realized that he liked this version of Naruto better, even if he was sad about the circumstances that had brought on these changes.

Giving in the urge to comfort him, although Naruto had threatened him not to show him pity, the Nara suddenly closed his arms around his Naruto's form, pulling him against his chest.

A surprised Naruto stood stiffly for a second, before carefully returning the hug. Shikamaru was warm and he smelled of a fresh shower. Why was he hugging him? It was not pity, Naruto felt it. But what was it then?

"Why do you care about me so much, Shika?" the blond whispered, but the brunette heard her clearly.

Chuckling softly to himself, Shikamaru realized that this was the third time someone asked him why he cared so much about Naruto. The first time, it had been Jiraiya, right after he had rescued the boy from his attackers; the second time, it had been Kakashi, only some weeks ago, when Shikamaru had asked him if the rumours about Naruto's return were true; and now, the third time, it was the boy himself, asking him the very same question. And once again, he gave the very same answer, speaking into the cloth of Naruto's hood that hid his sunny hair.

"Why wouldn't I care about you, Naruto? I consider you a good friend of mine."

Naruto was stunned. Shikamaru considered him a _friend_? A _good_ friend even? But why? What did he know about him after all? Sure, they had played together during academy days, but was that enough to call someone a friend? Naruto remembered his own naiveté and how he used to call Sakura his friend when the pink-haired girl had repeatedly insulted him and openly disliked him from the beginning.

Shikamaru could almost hear Naruto's brain working through the confusion that seemed to have followed his words. He chuckled again and tightened the hug. "Don't ask why, Naruto, just accept it."

With that he loosened his hold on Naruto and turned around, walking away towards the restaurant in which their friends were waiting.

"Come on, idiot! We're already late," he called over his shoulder and shoved his hands in his pockets.

Naruto felt his mouth hanging open. He quickly closed it. He hugged himself, savouring the warm feeling that was left after the other boy's hug. It was not a lover's gesture, rather brotherly, offering comfort, showing him that he was not as alone as he had assumed.

_A friend?_ Naruto wondered. _Bonds? _Was he really forming bonds again? Had the incident with Sasuke not shown him how stupid it was to form bonds? How easy it was to be hurt? Gaara had said it was all about trust. Was he trusting Shikamaru? What reason did he have not to? Was there actually one? The boy had been surprisingly nice and thinking back, he had never been mean to him during academy days. And now he was his team mate. Naruto really needed to trust his team mates. Did it mean forming bonds again? It probably did. Was he okay with it? It felt nice to call Shikamaru his _friend._ And for a team to function properly, he needed to rely on the guys. How would he do it, if he wasn't able to trust them?

_This is more difficult than I had anticipated. _How come he had not realized that all his plans included new bonds, trust and people who helped him. He wasn't alone any more. He had his team and that was what he had wanted. Was he really that blind to not see that his former belief in bonds was slowly returning to him?

There were so many questions Naruto found no answer to. But Shikamaru had unknowingly pushed his thoughts into a direction that he had avoided to take. On one hand the Nara had set off all those stupid questions, on the other hand, he had also provided Naruto with one clear answer. He did neither feel threatened by the idea to form a bond of friendship with the other boy, nor did Naruto feel like it was wrong. Instead, he knew that he couldn't go on like this, mistrusting and apprehensive of everyone.

_This is all stupid Sasuke-teme's fault!_ Naruto spat inwardly, cursing the raven, who continuously invaded his thoughts. But had it actually ever helped the Uchiha to cut off all bonds and ties? Naruto didn't know how his former best friend was faring under Orochimaru's tutelage, but one thing he was now sure of. Sasuke was alone. And Naruto now had a team.

Naruto stared at Shikamaru's retreating back. Sadly, the boy – _his friend –_ didn't see the somehow entranced smile on his lips.

* * *

><p>Some minutes later, the two arrived at the restaurant. Shikamaru stopped in front of the entrance, turning around to Naruto. He looked at him, searching for his eyes under the hood. "You know, this hood is really troublesome."<p>

The blond shrugged. The hood was his only protection against the hateful stares of the villagers; he wasn't going to admit his current weakness, though. He still hadn't dared to take it off, even though he was walking with Shikamaru. _Later,_ he told himself, but apparently, the Nara had other plans.

He removed his hands from his pockets and lazily but determinately reached up, pulling the hood off Naruto's head, revealing his sunny blond hair and ocean blue eyes – which were now darting glances left and right. It somehow reminded Shikamaru of a caged animal. Was Naruto really that afraid of being seen by the villagers? Once again the scene from the alley came back to him and he sighed inwardly. No surprise that the boy in front of him wasn't too enthusiastic about meeting those people. Deciding to make him feel better, Shikamaru grabbed Naruto's hand and pulled him along after him.

The boy stumbled into the restaurant close at his heels, surprised about the usually lazy boy's sudden initiative.

Shikamaru expected their friends to be sitting at their usual table and indeed, he was proven right, as all of the other rookie nine – minus Sasuke, of course – but plus Team Gai and Sai, came into view. He saw that there were still two free spots, between Kiba and Neji. It seemed as if the two boys were already thinking like a real team, intending to sort of shield their new captain from the others in the middle of them. Appreciating the gesture, he cleared his throat, for that their friends would stop their animated chatter.

Everyone looked up at the newest guests and Shikamaru graced them with a lazy wave of his free hand. The other was still holding tightly onto Naruto's. Squeezing it comfortingly, he pulled him into view and several surprised gasps sounded from the gathered shinobi.

The boy himself was holding his breath. This was one of the moments he had dreaded the most. He was already unbelievably grateful for his new team mates' acceptance, but who knew whether the reunion with his old class mates would go as smoothly. He was oddly aware of the stares he received. What would they say? Would they be mad at him for not properly saying good-bye all those three years ago? Would they even care about him any more?

Naruto's eyes caught Neji's level gaze. Almost unnoticeably, the Hyuuga bowed his head at him; both a gesture of respect and greeting. Kiba grinned at him, baring his fangs, the red triangle tattoos on his cheeks stretching. He saw Sakura's green eyes staring at him, shyly and insecure. Sai was there, too; his dark eyes smiling his fake smile as usual.

"Na-Naruto?" a disbelieving female voice questioned loudly. Naruto's eyes snapped to the bleach-blonde girl, Yamanaka Ino. Once again, Naruto was surprised as the girl jumped up from her cushion, dancing over to Naruto and hugged him.

Naruto stood stiffly, not exactly knowing how to react. _This is good, just hug back, _the voice of instinct spoke to him quietly. Knowing he could rely on his instincts, Naruto slowly hugged back; since his one hand was still locked with Shikamaru's it was a bit awkward, but Ino had already let go and was now looking up at him. Her pale blue eyes wandered over Naruto's body and Ino suddenly laughed.

"Naruto, who would have thought that you finally developed a sense of fashion during those three years?" she laughed, winking at Naruto approvingly. This made the others look at the missing blond more closely.

Next to Naruto, Shikamaru shook his head. "Troublesome," he muttered, as all of them checked Naruto out. The most striking feature was probably the lack of the colour orange, which Ino had already referred to. The fact that Naruto was now wearing a jounin vest also meant that he had been promoted. The ANBU tattoo was not visible, hidden under a henge. His frame was broader than all those years ago and his body was living proof for how hard he trained.

Feeling a little self-conscious, Naruto let go of Shikamaru's hand, squeezing it in thanks before, and put on a cheery grin. It looked so much like his old childish grin, that it easily fooled most of his old class mates. Neji, being the master of reading body language, narrowed his eyes at the boy. He saw through the fake grin, as seemed to do Kiba, because the Inuzuka now called for Naruto to join them at the table, patting the cushion next to him.

Naruto ignored Neji's scrutinizing gaze and walked over to Kiba, sitting down next to him. Shikamaru took the last free cushion between Naruto and Neji. Ino also sat back down and started questioning Naruto about his travels with Jiraiya.

Naruto found it hard to tell them about it. The three years had gone by so fast, he had experienced so many different things and he now felt like he didn't want to reveal everything about it. The time had also been sort of very private and he had no desire to let them know of all the things he had felt and seen. So he talked about minor things, like the different countries he had seen, the people he had met and so on. It was way easier to talk about other topics instead of about himself.

Pausing for a moment, chewing on a piece of meat, Lee took the chance to speak up. "Naruto-san, it is a pleasure to see how the youthfulness burns brightly in you! I can't wait to tell Gai-sensei of your youthful adventures!" He finished with a 'yosh' and punched his fist in the air, very energetically.

Tenten face-palmed exasperatedly, even though – or maybe because – she was used to her former team mate's antics.

"Naruto," Ino began, "will you go on missions again? With your old team?" She was referring to Team Kakashi plus Sai instead of Sasuke.

_My old team?_ Naruto mused. It didn't feel like his _old_ team. Not with Sasuke gone and Sakura hating him – or was she still? Naruto didn't know, but somehow didn't feel the energy to care much. The pink-haired girl had majorly annoyed him during the mock mission. Naruto didn't think he could work with her again in the future. Sakura's attitude towards shinobi life still needed a lot of improvement. Whatever great medic she was, she lacked skills as a shinobi and Naruto certainly wasn't planning on working on a medic squad. He had his own ANBU team, about which he felt really good. He couldn't tell the others about it, though. Joining ANBU was not a topic you discussed openly. There was a reason why it was so important to keep the members' identities a secret. Although the others had probably guessed that Neji and Kiba had joined ANBU, the two would not confirm it. And neither would he. No one expected the lazy Shikamaru to be an ANBU anyway, so there was no one really suspecting him.

Naruto gave a certain, "No," at the question whether he was rejoining Team Kakashi, but answered evasively about the other part, saying something about taking solo missions and doing more training.

The conversation took up again and Naruto was satisfied with only listening. So far, no one seemed to be mad at him for any reason and Naruto was relieved as well as angry at himself for being so insecure beforehand. It seemed that his return to Konoha had thrown him into a confusion of emotions. He was unusually insecure and churned up. Trying to shake off the feeling, he concentrated back on the others.

Shino was not saying much, just like he used to be before Naruto left. Chouji seemed content with eating, but had warmly smiled at him in welcome. Hinata had greeted him with a stuttered "N-Naruto-k-kun," which had reminded Naruto of the fact that she was the only one except for Iruka, who called her 'Naruto-_kun_'. After that, the Hyuuga heiress had managed to talk to him almost stutter-freely and Naruto actually enjoyed talking to the shy girl. It seemed that her meek nature had improved a little, but Naruto seriously hoped that Hinata would one day be able to lead her clan with confidence.

While talking to Hinata, Naruto noticed Kiba's entranced gaze, unwaveringly fixed on the black-haired girl. Had Hinata noticed it, too? The effect she seemed to have on the Inuzuka? Probably not, Hinata was just too oblivious to see such things. Had Kiba asked her out already? Naruto made a mental note to investigate in the future.

Naruto was interrupted from his inner musings, when a boisterous Ino squeezed herself in between Kiba and him, shoving a cup of sake in Naruto's face. The bleach-blonde raised her glass at the other blond and both emptied their cups.

"So, Naruto," Ino leaned closer, a conspiratorial grin on her lips, "Is there a girl in your life? A beautiful princess from a foreign country maybe?" She winked at the blushing Naruto.

"No, Ino," he mumbled, "there is no one."

"Mmh," Ino thought aloud, "I saw you holding hands with Shikamaru earlier, you know. You can tell me, I won't tell a soul!"

Somehow Ino's last statement left Naruto feeling very doubtful, but he couldn't deny the part about holding hands. "We-we're just friends," he assured Ino. The word 'friend' coming out of his mouth felt almost surreal. He hadn't called someone his friend since – since Sasuke had betrayed him. He felt his mood drop, but had no time to dwell on it, as Ino shot question after question at him.

"Naruto," Ino eventually cooed, her cheeks red from maybe a bit too much sake, "we have so much to catch up on! I'm so glad you're back! You know, forehead-girl is no fun since she's Hokage-sama's apprentice. She's working all the time! And Hinata is no fun either, her father is just too strict with her and she hardly has any free-time!" Her hand was patting Naruto's knee the whole time, like she was talking to a child. "I can feel it, Naruto! Things are going to change again, now that you're back in town!"

A feeling of foreboding sent a shiver down Naruto's back. Things were certainly going to change again. He just hoped it would be to the better. Feeling a bit uneasy all of a sudden, Naruto downed another cup of sake, trying to kill the churning emotions with the burning liquid.

* * *

><p>Hours later, Shikamaru nudged Naruto with his elbow. "You alright, captain?" he mumbled, too low for the others to hear.<p>

Naruto shot him a look. "Stop worrying about me, Shika, I'm fine," he said, suddenly overwhelmed by all that happened. The others were laughing and talking loudly, eating and drinking sake, trying to tell Naruto everything that had happened during his absence. It was too loud, too hot and too many emotions were still troubling him. The sake was not helping either, so he sighed a half-hearted apology to Shikamaru. The blond got up from his cushion and endured the protests that followed his good-bye. Neji walked him to the door, watching him closely.

"Shall I walk you home, Naruto-san?" His friendly offer was only further irritating Naruto. Did he really look so pathetic today that all of them were worried about him? He was not some weak boy that couldn't take care of himself! He was Uzumaki Naruto! And he was a damn fine shinobi! _A damn fine shinobi, who is too afraid to take off his hood in public? Hiding behind it like a shield? Look at yourself, no wonder they're worried about you!_ _You _are _weak!_

"Naruto-san? Are you all right?" Neji's concerned eyes looked down at him.

"Sorry, Neji," Naruto averted his eyes, "I just... spaced out for a second."

Neji narrowed his eyes at the other boy suspiciously, but otherwise said nothing to the lame excuse. Naruto said good-bye and stepped out of the restaurant and into the night of Konoha's streets. Reflexively, he pulled the hood over his hair, the shield against the outside world back in place. He needn't have bothered, there was no one on the streets at this late hour. He walked alone, hands in the pockets of his pants.

He let his feet guide him and for some reason, he ended up in front of Kakashi's apartment complex instead of his own. Not bothering to knock on the door, Naruto jumped onto the balcony and quietly opened the window to Kakashi's bedroom. Being the jounin of high renown he was, Kakashi awoke almost immediately, but otherwise unalarmed, since he had recognized his student's chakra signature.

"Naruto, what's up?" he yawned, pushing himself into a sitting position.

The blond sat crouched on his window sill, looking into the darkness of his room. The hood kept his face in even more shadows and Kakashi wasn't able to see his eyes or face.

"I just met with the others," Naruto said; the tone in his voice not quite distinguishable for Kakashi.

"So how did it go?" he eye-smiled encouragingly with his both eyes, as he took his headband off for sleeping.

Naruto kept silent for some moments, then replied. "Okay, I guess. No one seemed to be mad at me. And I think they were even happy to see me again." Amazement at that realization swung in his voice, as if he hadn't yet comprehended it fully.

"See, Naruto," Kakashi said cheerily, "I told you so!" Very pleased with himself, he questioned his student about how the meeting with the other three boys had gone just this morning. Naruto told him, a steady stream of words flowing out of him, feeling more himself than for the whole day and night.

None of them wondered about how they had a quite normal conversation in the middle of the night in Kakashi's dark bedroom. Naruto felt at ease around his sensei and retelling all that had happened helped him in sorting through all the different emotions inside him.

Eventually he finished, a little breathless all of a sudden from all the talking. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness perfectly and he saw Kakashi's mismatched eyes watching him. There was a question on his mind; one he wasn't sure whether to ask, as it was both kind of private and probably a bit rude to ask. His sensei noticed his hesitation, saw him shifting on the window sill.

"Shoot, Naru!" the grey-haired jounin prompted, arching his eyebrows at him and showing the boy how much he knew him.

Naruto looked at him, a thoughtful frown on his face. "Why do you wear the mask, Kakashi?"

Naruto and the other members of Team Seven had asked themselves this question a myriad times, but never actually dared to ask. Why was Kakashi hiding his face? He didn't have some ugly scar or any other disfiguring features. Was he hiding behind it, just like him? Protecting himself against something? Or was it some entirely different reason for him?

Curious about his answer, Naruto saw Kakashi smiling at him. "Why do you wear the hood, Naruto?"

It was a typical, mysterious Kakashi-answer, which left so much space for interpretation, but still revealed so much. Reflecting on why he was wearing the mask, Naruto knew that it was personal weakness, his fear of being rejected again, of meeting those ice-cold, hateful stares. What was Kakashi avoiding? Naruto didn't know and in fact, he didn't know a lot about his sensei's past, but he wouldn't pry further. Kakashi had answered him in his own manner, telling him that their reasons for hiding their faces were probably the same, but also entirely different. But Kakashi had revealed his face to him, voluntarily. It was only then that Naruto truly understood the extent of this gesture.

Feeling suddenly warm all over, Naruto pushed his hood back over his hair, showing his sensei the hesitant but genuine grin on his face. He inclined his head at him, meeting his mismatched gaze.

"You want to stay for the night?" Kakashi asked. Anyone who would have heard that offer would immediately think of something inappropriate, but to Naruto it was just an invitation to not spend the first night alone in his empty apartment. However, Naruto shook his head, thanking him, but saying that he somehow had the feeling he needed to go to his own place.

* * *

><p>And indeed, Naruto's instincts had been right to tell him to go home. <em>Home?<em> He snorted in disbelief, how could anyone call this miserable place a 'home'? But still, he felt more at home in Konoha now than just two days ago. It had to do with the honest acceptance of his three team mates, who acknowledged him, even though they knew that he was a demon. The warm welcome he had received from his former class mates had helped, too. However, it would probably still take some time until he truly felt like he belonged.

His senses were back to full alert, as Naruto smelled a vaguely familiar scent in his room. He stopped in front of the door, listening. He heard the pulsing of a heartbeat coming from the other side and suddenly he knew who it was. _This day seems to be full of surprises._

Naruto opened his door and stepped inside, outwardly casual, but tensing to counter in case he was attacked. He needn't have bothered, though. The raven-haired man sitting on his wobbly kitchen chair looked oddly out-of-place in the shabby room. His onyx eyes were just the same as his brother's and Naruto needed to look away from them.

"Uchiha," Naruto said in greeting, walking over to him.

"Naruto-san," Itachi said quietly, watching him closely. "I've been waiting for you for forever."

Naruto wondered at the slightly whiny undertone in his deep voice. "What are you doing here anyway? Isn't it a little too dangerous for you to be in Konoha?"

"I'm honoured that you care about my safety, Naruto-san," he said mockingly and the blond snorted. "But the fact that I was able to enter the village undetected, is what should have you worried"

Unfortunately, Naruto had to agree with him. It seemed like Tsunade needed to seriously change something about Konoha's security precautions.

Itachi watched his reaction and the boy scowled at him. "Why are you here, Itachi? I thought you wanted to send a scroll?"

"Yes," he said, "but I wanted to talk to you in person." Naruto's heart skipped a beat. Was it already time for him to keep his promise? Were they going after Sasuke now? He wasn't sure whether he was ready for that yet.

But to his relief, it was not about Sasuke. Not yet, at least. "Did you ask the Hokage for the reports on the Uchiha massacre?" the raven asked, his voice neutral and deep.

Naruto nodded curtly. Yes, he had read said secret report. And there was actually something he needed to say. "I read it. And I want to apologize for treating you like a traitor. You don't deserve that. I am sorry, Itachi."

The man's eyes widened in surprise. No one had ever apologized to him for calling him a traitor; well, no one exactly knew that he wasn't really a traitor. "Why do you apologize?" he whispered, stunned.

His surprise grew, when Naruto continued. "All my life people have blamed and hated me for things I had no influence on. Konoha despises me for something I have no control over. But you... Everyone thinks you are a traitor, although you are actually Konoha's hero! You put the welfare of the whole village above your own. Taking all the blame on yourself and living with the shame... No one ever acknowledged what you did for Konoha, Itachi." Naruto's voice was serious and the look in his blue eyes sincere.

"You saved Konoha from the Uchiha clan's betrayal and I highly respect you for that." His look turned into a glare and his voice was cold as he went on. "But never forget that I deeply resent you for what you did to your brother."

Itachi swore Naruto's ocean blue eyes flashed crimson for a second.

"What you did to Sasuke is inexcusable to me. I understand that you only meant to protect him, but you _destroyed_ him. I will never forgive you for that, Itachi."

The look in those blue orbs sent a shiver down Itachi's back. And it took a lot for Uchiha Itachi to feel uneasy. In a subdued and ashamed voice, he whispered, "I will never forgive myself either, Naruto-san."

Feeling the tiniest pang of guilt at how he had talked to the man, who very obviously blamed himself for his past mistakes, Naruto swallowed and cleared his throat, trying to break the guilt-filled silence. "So, why are you here...?"

Itachi looked at him and Naruto took the second chair opposite him. It creaked pitifully under his weight, but he was used to his shabby furniture and ignored the sound. The raven took a scroll from out of the depth of his Akatsuki cloak, putting it on the table between them. It looked just like the first scroll he had given him and trusting him enough by now, Naruto grabbed it and opened it. His eyes skimmed over the notes. They looked like they were written in haste, always in different situations, whenever Itachi dared to take notes that marked him as a traitor yet again.

"Deidara and Sasori," Naruto read the names out loud. The scroll contained almost only information on the two.

"Yes," Itachi said, "you know that the Akatsuki is after the Bijuu." Naruto nodded in confirmation. "We work in teams of two and each team is assigned to capture one of the Jinchuuriki. Deidara and Sasori are after the Fifth Kazekage."

"Gaara!" Naruto hissed, not liking the idea of someone going after his friend.

"Yes," Itachi confirmed, "as you know, Gaara is the Jinchuuriki of the One-Tailed Shukaku, the Ichibi. Deidara and Sasori will attack Sunagakure in exactly three weeks from now."

Naruto intently stared at him. The Uchiha's voice was hard and resolute. "I want you to interfere and _kill_ them. So listen carefully, Naruto."

Naruto's eyes widened, but he listened as the other man wished, paying great attention to his words. He explained in detail about the team's strategies, their personalities, their abilities and whatever might be important.

Naruto digested all the information. Dawn was breaking by the time Itachi finished, painting the sky outside in colourful shades of pinks and reds. They both sat in silence.

Naruto's head was spinning from all that he had learned, but he had memorized everything as good as possible and he also had the scroll.

Itachi ran a tired hand over his onyx eyes, brushing his long bangs out of his face, making him look actually human. The early sunlight cast a golden shine on him, the dark lines under his eyes standing out against the only slightly darker skin than his brother's.

The man got up, stretching gracefully. He waved over to the bed on which Naruto had left his ANBU mask, changing the topic.

"I see they found an honourable successor for my old mask," he smiled softly, which made Naruto blink. The sight of Itachi had taken some time to get used to, but the sight of a smiling Itachi would take even more time to get used to.

Then his words caught on and Naruto's eyes widened. He now remembered the initials scratched into the back of the mask. _U.I. Uchiha Itachi. Of course, _he thought. "So it was yours?" he asked despite knowing the answer.

Itachi nodded, before he innocently eye-smiled at the blond. "Did you hear any skunk-jokes already?"

"_What_!" Naruto exclaimed, annoyed that Itachi, too, was teasing him about it, just like Kiba had.

The Uchiha chuckled. _Oh yes, this night was truly full of surprises._ "So you did, I assume."

"Why would you say that? It doesn't look like a skunk at all!" the blond defended his animal mask.

"Well, it actually _is_ a skunk, you know," he chuckled and at Naruto's incredulous face, grabbed the mask from the bed and walked over to him. Pointing to the red markings on the porcelain mask, he asked, "Do you see these lines?"

"Yes," of course Naruto saw them, _duh_.

"Look more closely," the man advised and Naruto now saw that the red markings looked slightly different than the black ones. Like they had been added to the mask later on...

"Imagine the mask without the red markings, with only the black ones," Itachi ordered and Naruto squinted his eyes, looking at the mask closely.

His eyes widened in realization. Without the red markings, the supposed weasel mask looked like a freaking _skunk!_ "Nooo, _why_?" he almost whined, all illusions of having a weasel mask destroyed.

Itachi laughed at Naruto's unhappy face. "I reacted just like you when the Sandaime gave me this mask. Who wants to be known as a skunk, right?" His laughter faltered a little at the memory. "So I added the red markings and told everyone it was a weasel," he confessed and winked at the blond.

Naruto stupidly blinked at him. Who would have thought that Uchiha Itachi could wink, chuckle, laugh and also deceive everyone about his ANBU mask? But frankly, who would honestly want to be known as a _skunk_? Naruto was so glad that Kiba didn't hear this. And he'd make sure that no one ever heard of it in the future.

Itachi's face returned to serious once more, which made Naruto sober up. He looked at the raven, waiting for what he was going to say next. "Did news about Orochimaru reach Konoha yet?"

Naruto shook his head. No news about the Snake Sannin. He dreaded those news and his heart rate increased despite his will.

"Apparently, my little brother killed Orochimaru about five weeks ago."

Naruto was unable to suppress the shocked gasp that escaped his lips. Sasuke had killed his sensei? Naruto felt relief wash over him. He clawed at his chest unintentionally. The teme had not let Orochimaru take over his body. But what now? Would he come back? Did Naruto actually care?

"Where is he now?" he wanted to know.

"My last information is that he's gathering a team. To come after me and kill me," he sighed. "But I have no idea about his current whereabouts. It's not easy to hide my movements from the Akatsuki and my partner. But Sasuke is looking for me. He will find me when _I_ decide it."

Naruto nodded. If each of them was looking for the other, they were bound to meet eventually. But it seemed as if Itachi thought that the right time had not yet come.

"I wished we could go after him right now, but there is so much we need to take care of, Naruto-san," the raven looked at him almost pleadingly, trying to make him understand, why he put off rescuing his beloved brother. "I want the Akatsuki dead as much as you want."

Itachi suddenly coughed, clasping a hand over his mouth. His shoulders shook violently and his skin paled visibly. Naruto felt strangely worried and got up, supportingly grabbing Itachi's arm. Naruto's sensitive nose smelled blood and he arched his eyebrows at the man. What was happening?

Itachi's coughing fit subsided and he straightened up again, eyes not looking at Naruto's questioning gaze. "It's nothing," he mumbled hoarsely. Naruto didn't believe him. Coughing up blood was not '_nothing_'. But Naruto was not close enough to the man to further pry into his privacy.

The raven turned away, his back to Naruto. "Be ready in three weeks, Naruto-san. You will hear from me again after that." He shot a last glance at the blond over his shoulder, eyes red from the coughing. "Take care," he whispered and shunshined away.

Naruto stood alone in his now brightly illuminated room. _What a weird first day._ So much had happened. And yet things were almost going too slow for him.

He had three weeks to come up with a plan to rescue Gaara and defeat two of the most feared shinobi in the Elemental Nations. _Easy-peasy_, he thought sarcastically, fuelled by both the lack of sleep and the sake that was still flowing through his system.

The blond squinted his eyes as the first rays of sunshine blinded him. Rushing to the bathroom, he freshened up and tucked his blond hair into the hood. He grabbed his Konoha Hitai-ate and tied it around his forehead. Getting his katana and training equipment from atop the dresser and pulling the hood over his eyes, Naruto 'poofed' away.

Naruto had told his team to meet him at the training grounds at sunrise. And a triviality like a night without sleep would not keep him from it. They needed to use the three weeks they were given wisely.

* * *

><p><strong>Next chapter: The new team sets out for their first mission! Will they be able to defeat Sasori and Deidara? <em>(And nooo, it's not going to be like in the Anime!)<em>**

**Thanks for reading everyone! Feel free to leave a review! ;)**

**Over and out,**

**xXHaneliXx**


	11. Chapter 11

**The author says: **Hey guys, welcome to chapter 11 of _He had no idea! _Once again thanks to everyone, who reviewed, liked and read this story!

I'd like to answer a question I got concerning the pairing of the story. It's definitely going to be Sasuke and Naruto, but I'll leave it open for now whether it's going to be SasuNaru or NaruSasu. I have it planned out, though.

****I hope you're going to like this chapter, have fun reading!

**I do not own Naruto.**

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><p><strong>'He had no idea'<strong>

**Chapter 11**

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><p><em><strong>You're Not Alone<br>Open Your Mind**_

**_In a way its a matter of time_**  
><strong><em>I will not worry for you, You'll be just fine<em>**  
><strong><em>Take my thoughts with you, and when you look behind<em>**  
><strong><em>You will surely see a face that you recognize<em>**

**- 'You're Not Alone' by ATB**

* * *

><p>It didn't take Naruto long to arrive at the training grounds. The other boys were already waiting for him. The sun had now fully risen over the horizon and was making the dew on the grass sparkle.<p>

"Oi, Naruto," Kiba called out to the approaching captain, "What's up with the serious face?"

Naruto paused and only then realized that there was a scowl on his features. The talk with Itachi had left him restless. Three weeks to come up with a genius plan was not much time. But on the other hand, he had chosen one of his teammates specifically for his strategic intellect.

"Don't shout so early in the morning, Kiba," Shikamaru drawled, yawning.

"It's not my fault you have a hangover, man," Kiba teased his team mate.

The Nara only rolled his eyes and muttered, "Troublesome."

Neji's attention was fully on the blond boy that now stood next to them.

"Did something happen, Naruto-san?" he asked gently, his pale eyes focused on his captain.

Naruto snorted. "If you'd call Itachi appearing in my room in the middle of the night 'something', then _yes,_ something did happen."

"What?" Kiba exclaimed. "What did _he_ want?" Akamaru yelped next to him, looking up at the others with his dog eyes.

Naruto swiftly told them what Itachi had told him, not even one hour ago.

A heavy silence followed his words.

Finally Shikamaru sighed, "I guess it can't be helped. It seems like we're going to need my brain faster than we had anticipated."

Now it was Kiba's turn to roll his eyes at his team mate. He muttered something about how Shika's brain was truly going to his head. On the other hand, even the Inuzuka knew that their team would probably be helpless, if Shikamaru didn't come up with a neat plan. He was in no way looking forward to coming face to face with one of those S-rank criminals so early after their team was formed.

Naruto tossed the scroll with the information on Sasori and Deidara to Shikamaru. "Study this and I'll tell you everything else Itachi told me about the two." He looked up at the brunette. "I expect the first outlines of a plan in three days. I'm counting on you, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru returned his level gaze and nodded at him. "Sure, taichou."

After that they began their first training together. The three boys soon realized that Naruto set a fast pace. The blond was merciless.

Kiba, who was paired with Naruto for his first spar, was soon wheezing and sweating. Akamaru was panting and his fur was dark from sweat.

The Inuzuka jumped backwards, just barely evading the Uzumaki's fist.

"Geez, Naruto," he panted, complaining, "if you beat me up now, I won't be able to fight properly!"

Naruto shut him up with a punch in the face. "Stop whining, dog-breath! If you're tired already, then maybe it's better if you quit now!"

The brunette sputtered. No one insulted an Inuzuka! He would show him! He would not lose to someone younger than him again!

Akamaru growled lowly and dangerously, declaring that no one messed with his master, if the dog had any say in it. Naruto smirked at the large nin-dog. He was clearly not intimidated by the beast. He had a demon living inside his mind after all. It took more than some growling from the otherwise quite peaceful and – compared to Kyuubi – tiny dog.

"Ha, that's right, Akamaru, show him!" Kiba cheered his partner on.

Naruto grinned foxily and purposefully drew on the Kyuubi's chakra. His eyes bled red and his pupils turned to slits. It was gone again within mere seconds.

Akamaru suddenly whined. His ears flopped and his tail wiggled, clearly afraid.

Kiba watched, incredulous. He had not seen Naruto's display. "What did you do to him, Naruto?" he demanded to know, angered that the boy had somehow influenced his partner without him realizing what he actually did.

Naruto's grin turned into a cocky smirk. "I just reminded him of who is Alpha here."

Kiba nudged his dog into the shoulder, trying to shake him out of it. Naruto was definitely getting on his nerves here. Was the Uzumaki aware of how annoying he could be at times?

With new vigour, Kiba attacked Naruto with his _Gatsuga (1)_.

Naruto hid the knowing smirk. It was just too easy to get Kiba all riled up. But it was also quite helpful that he knew how to push his buttons. While he saw that Kiba had improved greatly thanks to his ANBU training, he also had the impression that the boy was holding back. Maybe Kiba was trying to go easy on him for some stupid reason? Ts, hopefully Naruto's teasing would make him forget this, otherwise the Inuzuka would be kissing the ground soon.

On the other half of the training ground, Neji and Shikamaru were supposed to be sparring, too. But both were mesmerized by what was happening in front of them.

Naruto was mercilessly teasing Kiba and they saw how the impulsive boy was getting angry.

"Naruto sure knows how to handle him," Shikamaru smirked.

Next to him, Neji nodded. His neutral face showed some mild amusement as Kiba hit the ground with his face first, eating a nice amount of dirt. Akamaru was yelping, but it sounded somehow like laughter rather than a noise of concern for his human partner.

"I'm actually glad that Naruto is on our side," Shikamaru said quietly, not taking his eyes off the fight in front of him. "It would be just too troublesome, if Naruto was our enemy."

Neji silently agreed. The boy's improvement was astounding even to him. He was one of the few, who had felt Naruto's power during his childhood. Back then, the sheer amount of his chakra had already been incredible, but what Neji was sensing now was an intensity that he had never felt before. Even Gai-sensei's chakra didn't feel as wild and raw when he used The Eight Inner Gates' release.

The Hyuuga turned to his team mate. "Will you be able to come up with a plan, Shikamaru-san?"

Shikamaru felt the Hyuuga's pale eyes on him, but didn't turn his head. He shrugged. "I guess."

Neji's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. "You guess? I hope you realize that the outcome of this mission highly depends on your plan."

Shikamaru closed his eyes for a moment. Turning his head to look at the Hyuuga, he opened them again; a determined glint in his intelligent eyes.

"Neji, I am fully aware of the role I'm playing. Don't worry. I'll come up with something." He turned towards the fight once more and added, "Besides, Naruto is counting on me."

Neji regarded the Nara with new respect. While Shikamaru's words were sounding almost careless at the beginning, Neji sensed the resolve in his posture and saw it in his eyes.

Neji also realized that Naruto was already having an influence on both Kiba and Shikamaru. One seldom saw the lazy genius like this. He recalled Shikamaru's words, _Besides, Naruto is counting on me._ Was that all it took to get the Nara to abandon his laid-back attitudes? Apparently, for Shikamaru it was enough. Naruto had faith in his abilities and hence the boy seemed to take his task more seriously than usual.

_Is Naruto aware of how much he is affecting those two? _Neji wondered. He knew for sure that the blond had left an important impression on him and he was grateful for it. _Somehow, Naruto has the ability to make people try to do their best around him._

He watched the fight between the new captain and Kiba. It was clear by now that the brunette and his animal partner were losing. Naruto was charging the boy with his katana. The wind-chakra coated blade stopped mere millimetres in front of Kiba's face, as he threw up his arms, surrendering; a look of horror on his face.

* * *

><p>It was lunch time and Ino was happy that she could escape the dark and stuffy building of the Konoha Intelligence Division. As a member of the Torture and Interrogation Force, she spent most of her time inside doing... well, interrogation and torture most of the time.<p>

She met up with Sakura and Hinata for lunch at the Dango Shop. Hurrying down the busy streets, she arrived just in time. Hinata and Sakura waved at her in greeting and Ino slumped down next to her pink-haired friend.

They ate in silence for some time, when Hinata suddenly spoke up. By now, the other two girls were used to her soft voice. It had become more and more confident with time and her stutter was almost completely gone, only showing when she was particularly nervous or insecure.

"What do you think about Naruto-kun?" the Hyuuga heiress asked, her voice gentle.

Sakura guiltily looked down at the table, playing with her dango.

Ino swallowed loudly and said, "Oh, Naruto has really grown, don't you think? He's really tall now and his body? I mean, did you look at him, he's actually pretty hot," she finished with a wink.

Grabbing another dango, Ino started chewing again, looking at the other two girls expectantly.

Hinata sighed. Of course, Ino would only say something about Naruto's physical changes. But hadn't the others noticed it?

"I know what you mean, Hinata-chan," Sakura said almost shyly. Her green eyes gazed away from the table and into the Hyuuga's.

"Huh, what do you mean, Billboard-Brow?" Ino asked loudly, but Sakura didn't even react to the usual insult.

Instead the pinkette went on, "Naruto has changed a lot. He isn't the same any more. I already noticed it on our mission together last week."

"You went on a mission with Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, surprised. Ino's eyes widened, too, she hadn't known this either.

"Yes," Sakura confirmed, "but I wasn't allowed to talk about it. Tsunade-shishou's orders."

The others nodded. "But what do you mean, Naruto changed?" Ino wanted to know. "I mean, of course he changed. We all did. It's been three years! And I'm actually glad he stopped wearing orange."

Hinata almost rolled her eyes at the bleach-blonde Yamanaka. But her composed Hyuuga-mannerisms did not allow it. "Please don't be so shallow, Ino-chan," Hinata reprimanded her gently.

Ino sobered up and then said, "I know what you mean, Hinata-chan. How could I not have seen it? I'm on the freaking Interrogation Force! I would totally suck, if I hadn't noticed."

It was true. During interrogation Ino depended highly on her perceptive skills and being able to read people's body language was very important. Her mental techniques provided her with a profound knowledge of psychology and the workings of the mind.

Hinata and Sakura stared at Ino as the blonde said, "I can't pinpoint it for sure, but it's like the air around Naruto is heavier. The feeling he gives off has changed completely since our childhood. He used to be so carefree and joyous. But yesterday there was this odd feeling around him."

She stopped for a second, searching for words. Just as she wanted to go on, Sakura interrupted. "Darker and serious... grave, even."

Sakura remembered her first meeting with Naruto only too well; how Naruto's eyes had flashed a dangerous crimson and the oppressive feeling of his sickening killing intent. Sakura had been scared in that moment; scared of Naruto and the person he had become. She didn't know what was causing the strange vibes the boy was giving off, though.

Hinata's voice was small and sad when she said, "Whatever it is, I hope everything is all right with Naruto-kun. I'm sure he will find his smile again."

* * *

><p>It was late afternoon by now and the four young shinobi had ended their training – or rather, Naruto had finally decided that it was enough for the first day.<p>

They were dirty, sweaty and hurting. The three brunettes more than their blond captain, thanks to his Kyuubi-enhanced healing abilities.

Naruto felt good. He was very pleased with their first training. He was absolutely sure that he had made the right decision by choosing these three guys. They were not equally strong in every aspects, but they complemented each other nicely and as soon as there was more routine, Naruto was certain that they would function perfectly as a team.

The four young men were currently walking away from the training grounds and into the village, where they were planning to have a very late lunch or early dinner.

Kiba and Neji were walking in the front, Akamaru at their heels. Kiba was animately chattering about how he had _almost_ managed to land a hit on Naruto, which made Neji wonder where the Inuzuka took the energy from after the harsh training.

Shikamaru was already deep in thoughts, the first outlines of a battle plan forming in his mind. Still, he saw Naruto fidgeting next to him. It reminded him of his behaviour the night before. They were walking in broad daylight now and Naruto was not hiding himself behind the hood.

Sensing the blond's discomfort, Shikamaru put a hand on his shoulder. "Relax, Naruto. You're not alone."

The blond gaped at him. He really needed to get a grip on himself, if it was that easy to see that he felt uneasy. But Shikamaru's words were so true. Naruto was not alone. His team was with him and the villagers were not able to do anything to him.

Feeling reassured, Naruto straightened up and walked on with his head held high.

* * *

><p>Naruto felt the first incredulous stares on him the moment they entered the main village and the crowded streets.<p>

Stall owners stopped in their movements to openly stare at the blond Jinchuuriki. A woman stopped her sweeping, the broom hanging in mid-air.

A father pulled his two children protectively behind his back, away from the 'demon brat'.

A group of several women with shopping bags pointed at him and began whispering behind their hands.

Eyes followed Naruto's every step.

He suppressed the urge to break into a run and pull the hood over his head. If he gave in now, he'd give the villagers a reason to mistreat him again. Showing weakness was not an option now. And it had never been.

His neck hurt from the effort to keep his head up, to not shrink back into himself.

The initial moment of surprised shock about the 'demon's' return soon vanished. Unbelievable eyes filled with an almost reflexive hatred directed at the blond teen, who contained the Kyuubi.

Cursing his too sensitive ears, murmurs and curses reached Naruto.

Akamaru and Kiba must have been hearing them, too, because the large nin-dog bared his fangs at the surrounding villagers, a low and warning growl coming from his throat.

Naruto felt the tension building between his team and the civilians. He silently begged the others to not do anything stupid.

Their dishevelled appearance was probably not helping right now and the fact that Kyuubi was just too eager to raise his head, was making it hard for Naruto to suppress the scwol on his face.

He met the eyes of a shop owner, one of those who had repeatedly prohibited him from entering his shop. The man's eyes were filled with a passionate hatred, blind emotions directed at a young blond man he believed to be the Kyuubi in disguise.

The man's eyes widened at the sight of Naruto's sinister stare. Something resembling panic replaced the look in his eyes and he flinched openly, receding into the shelter of his shop.

A hand suddenly touched Naruto's left arm. "Geez, Naruto, calm down. And stop giving off that freakish killing intent."

Naruto blinked and shook his head slightly. He looked at the pineapple-haired Nara, who was intently staring at him. That broke the tension and Naruto felt the evil chakra surging through him.

Cursing under his breath, he prayed that his eyes had not yet shown any signs of Kyuubi's influence or otherwise he'd probably given the civilians all the more reason to believe he was indeed the Kyuubi reincarnated.

Seeing the brief flash of panic in the blue eyes, Shikamaru shook his head, silently telling Naruto that he was worrying for nothing. His killing intent subsided and Shikamaru let go of his arm.

It was a miracle that the group hadn't stopped walking, so they continued until they arrived at the Dango Shop and quickly entered.

Naruto let out a breath he hadn't been aware of holding in; relieved.

The other boys guided him to a table in the back of the little restaurant and pushed him onto the seat. Naruto reacted wordlessly, feeling a bit shaken.

Shikamaru took the seat next to the blond and the other two sat opposite them. Naruto didn't even notice them ordering and was surprised when a box of dango was set down in front of him.

They boys ate hesitantly, watching their captain, who seemed to be fighting an inner battle.

Indeed, inwardly Naruto was debating with himself. To some point, the first real confrontation with the villagers had gone better than expected; no direct attacks, no one who threatened or openly insulted him. But he had almost lost control right there. And if the boys hadn't been with him, he highly doubted that the villagers would have stayed as civil.

But now the word was out. Uzumaki Naruto, the demon brat of Konoha, monster and pariah, was truly back. He didn't know how many people had seen him, but it had been plenty enough. Word would spread.

He was unbelievably grateful that Shikamaru had shaken him out of his stupor. Kyuubi was always lurking in the back of his mind, waiting for opportunities just like this to show himself. Overwhelming Naruto in a situation like this, when his emotions were in turmoil, was what the demon hoped for.

What would have happened if he had lost control? Would he have attacked the villagers? The people who were staring at him with those hateful eyes?

Naruto shook off the alarming thoughts and looked up. Three pairs of watchful eyes were focused on him. He blinked.

Feeling a bit embarrassed all of a sudden, Naruto rubbed his neck in his old manner, and chuckled nervously, "Hehe, well, that went better than expected, don't you think?"

Shikamaru face-palmed. How had this gone better than expected? It was too difficult to follow the baka's train of thought. _Troublesome._

* * *

><p>Tsunade was sitting in her office. The outside world was dark. For once there was a cup of tea in her hand, instead of the ever-present sake.<p>

There was a small frown on her young features and her lips were pursed thoughtfully. In front of her sat a blond Jinchuuriki and his grey-haired sensei. Jiraiya was leaning against the wall and Shizune stood attentively next to the large desk, clutching Tonton the pig.

Tsunade didn't know whether to cry or laugh. Naruto had just told them about Itachi's visit and the danger to the Kazekage.

_Three weeks, _the blonde Hokage mused, _is this really enough time? Is Naruto ready yet to face the Akatsuki? I wished there was more time._

"Kakashi," Tsunade barked, "you will leave for Sunagakure tomorrow morning. You will personally tell Gaara of the coming attack. Make sure that they prepare the village for it, but don't raise any alarms. We have to keep this as quiet as possible. If the Akatsuki realizes that we know about their movements, we will lose both our advantage and probably Uchiha Itachi as well."

Kakashi nodded. He had expected to be the one assigned to go see Gaara.

"I'm sure that Shikamaru is working on a strategy?" she addressed Naruto.

"Yes," the teen confirmed, "but we cannot solely rely on him. It's more important that we can rely on each other as a team. Therefore I want to go on at least two other missions before we go to Suna."

Tsunade stared at the fellow blond. "What? But gaki, do you really think that's wise?"

"Yes, I do think so," Naruto said insistently. "We can't go on such a dangerous mission, if it is the first one for my new team. We have to get used to each other in real life situations. We can train all we want, but training doesn't give us experience."

Kakashi listened to his student. His words were reasonable and he agreed with him. Training and a real mission were something else entirely.

"I want to be in Suna one week before Sasori and Deidara attack," Naruto continued. "That leaves two weeks for intensive training and two missions."

He focused on Tsunade, who seemed to be contemplating his demands.

"All right, gaki," the Fifth said, "I see your point. But what if any of you are injured? You need all your strength for the fight against the Akatsuki."

Naruto smirked confidently. "Then we just don't get hurt, right?"

* * *

><p>Two weeks had passed; filled with training that compared to torture, two successful missions and many strategy meetings.<p>

It was one week until the date on which Sasori and Deidara were supposed to attack Sunagakure. Kakashi was already in Suna, planning with Gaara and the Elders.

Naruto and his team were less than one hour away from the Sand village. They were travelling fast and would arrive with the setting sun.

The had left Konoha only one and a half day ago, pressing to arrive as soon as possible. They were heavily armed and each had a scroll with medical supplies on them. After sifting through all the information on the two Akatsuki members, Naruto had asked Tsunade to prepare an antidote against the poison, that Sasori seemed to use most frequently.

The sun was burning down mercilessly and even Naruto felt hot and sandy. Kiba was constantly complaining about the heat. Neji took it quite well, or maybe he just didn't say anything. Shikamaru muttered a strained 'troublesome' every now and then.

None of the others had been to Suna before. "Hurry up, guys. Only one more hour," Naruto said, his voice hoarse from thirst.

His words gave the guys new hope and their speed increased once more.

Said hour later, four exhausted Leaf shinobi arrived at the gates of the Hidden Village. Their ANBU masks were in place, but the guards at gates were already waiting for them. To them, the ANBU team from Konoha was just a regular communication team sent from Hokage to Kazekage; no one was supposed to know, who was hiding behind the masks.

Even though Naruto knew his way through the village, the guards accompanied them to the Kazekage tower.

* * *

><p>Gaara looked up from his paperwork, when a knock was heard. "Enter!"<p>

A masked ANBU with a hood threw the door to his office open. Three other figures and a huge dog entered behind the first.

Akamaru stopped in the middle of the neat office and shook his fur. Sand flew in all directions, covering the otherwise spotless floor in a layer of yellow desert sand.

"Inuzuka-san, I see your dog needs to be taught some manners," Gaara said in his neutral voice, but Naruto heard both slight amusement and annoyance in his words.

The Kazekage stood up from his chair and walked around the desk to stand in front of the leader of the group. Like the others, the person was wearing the standard Konoha ANBU uniform, but there was a hood hiding what Gaara knew was sunny blond hair.

The teen pulled said hood away and took off the Weasel ANBU mask. Sparkling blue eyes looked at the redhead. "Ne, Gaara, you're in a good mood, I see."

Gaara tsk'ed and pulled the slightly taller boy into a tight hug. Naruto returned it without hesitating and enjoyed the strong arms around him. It had been only three months since he had last seen his fellow Jinchuuriki, but so much had happened in the short time, that it felt like years had passed.

The other boys were rather surprised at the open display of affection between the Kazekage and their captain. They knew Gaara had been a troubled child once. But what they saw now, proofed why he had been chosen to become the new leader of the Hidden Village of the Sand.

Neji watched the two Jinchuuriki, as they stood close together, sharing some teasing words. Naruto looked so at ease with the Sand-shinobi. Neji wondered, if Naruto realized that he looked happier around the redhead.

Gaara smiled at his best friend. Naruto looked so much better than only three months ago. Did he realize that the air of depression that had hung over him during his last visit had slightly lifted? It was not yet completely gone, but it was a start and Gaara was happy to see the blind more lively. The genuine grin on his scarred face made him feel warm.

The boy, that had visited him three months ago, had been a sad shadow of the young man that was now standing in front of him.

"You look better, Naruto," he said, honest.

"I do feel a bit better, I guess," he answered Gaara quietly.

"Good," Gaara nodded and only now paid attention to Naruto's team mates.

"Welcome to Sunagakure," he greeted politely, "I wished it was due to less serious circumstances that you visit my village."

The boys had taken off their masks and were greeting the Kazekage respectfully. They might know him a little and their captain was good friends with him, but that didn't allow them to cast aside all courtesies.

Gaara himself poured them a glass of water each, and they settled on the chairs around his desk. Since it was already late and dark outside, they decided to postpone all talk about the Akatsuki until tomorrow. The four needed some rest after the exhausting race through the desert.

Gaara invited them all to stay at his and his siblings' house for the time of their visit. As it was called a 'visit' and not a mission. They were not sure whether the Akatsuki had spies in Suna, so only Gaara's most trusted confidants knew about what was going to happen. Security had been raised as slowly as possible over the last two weeks, so that none of the civilians and also shinobi would be alarmed.

No one knew that the ANBU team that had arrived from Konoha, was Naruto and his team mates. Gaara would make sure that the same ANBU team would be seen leaving the village again tomorrow.

Word would spread tomorrow that Naruto, the Kazekage's best friend, was paying a surprise visit. The villagers would not find it conspicuous as Naruto's last visit three months ago had been a surprise as well. And as the two Jinchuuriki had spent every free minute together back then, no one would raise an eyebrow at Naruto's presence.

The small group finished talking and they made their way to the Kazekage's residence as quietly as possible.

The four ANBU were glad to be able to sleep. Kami knew they needed all the energy they had for what was to come.

* * *

><p>The next day Naruto's team, Kakashi, the Kazekage and his siblings and their former sensei, Baki, were holding a meeting of sorts in the Kazekage's office.<p>

Gaara sat behind his large desk with a blond ANBU captain sitting next to him on said desk. The others took chairs in front of it, all listening to what Naruto was saying.

"Thanks to my informant, we know a lot about the two Akatsuki members. I'm sure Kakashi already briefed you on them, but there are more things that weren't in the scroll," his ocean blue eyes regarded the gathered people in front of him. It was a really small group, considering what was about to happen, but Itachi had warned Naruto about possible spies within Sunagakure and Naruto was not willing to take any chances. So only the people Gaara trusted the most were attending this meeting and they also were they only ones, that knew about the coming threat to the village and the Kazegkage.

"We will meet them in the desert outside of Suna, so that the village is not in danger. Fighting them while trying to protect the villagers could cost us our lives," Naruto explained, "we can fight freely in the desert and also don't have to worry about destroying any buildings." A small grin spread over his face, anticipation gleaming in his eyes.

"Shikamaru here," he waved his hand at the pineapple-haired Nara, "came up with a strategy to fight them."

The genius took over, "The informant," they weren't mentioning Itachi's name, because in case anyone heard them, no one must know that the Uchiha Itachi was betraying the Akatsuki, and besides everyone else was still assuming that the Uchiha himself was the traitor, "said that the team work between Sasori and Deidara is rather non-existent. Apparently, Sasori is the stronger one of the two and thus the leader, ordering Deidara around, more or less. As Sasori is a former Sand-nin, we hope to get some more input on his techniques from you," he pointed at Gaara's brother, Kankurou.

One of the reasons they had arrived in Suna already one week before the scheduled attack, was to train with the puppet master and hopefully learn how to counter Sasori's fighting style.

"As Sasori is supposed to be the stronger one, we will concentrate on him first," Shikamaru continued, "So to get Deidara out of the way, one of Naruto's clones will henge into the Kazekage and lure Deidara away from Sasori."

Gaara paused at that. "Why would you use a clone henged into me? Why just don't use the real me?" His teal eyes looked up at Naruto, his non-existent eyebrows raised questioningly.

The blond looked down at him from his position on his desk. "I didn't plan on you fighting, Gaara."

"Why not? You surely don't expect me to just stand by and watch you defend _my_ village, Naruto?" he asked in his gentle voice, a disbelieving tone in his words.

"No, Gaara, but I just don't want you to-"

"-get hurt?" he cut him off, sounding a bit offended. He stood up from the large chair and stood in front of Naruto, making him look at him. "Naruto, I'm glad that you're concerned about my well-being, but I will not accept this."

Naruto stared into Gaara's deep teal eyes, concern for his best friend showing.

Gaara smirked, "Do you think I'm that weak, Naruto?"

"N-No," he sputtered, not wanting Gaara to think he thought he was not strong enough to fight the Akatsuki, "but you have to take care of the village, so just let us do the fighting."

"Naruto," Gaara said, as if talking to a child, "taking care of my village includes fighting the people that threaten us. As the Kazekage I will protect my village and the people in it. I won't let you do my job, Naruto. And besides, they are coming after me, so I won't hide behind you." The redhead saw Naruto frown and added, "Don't worry about me, Naruto. I'm a Jinchuuriki, too, you know."

Naruto nodded in defeat. He was not happy that Gaara was going to be involved in the fighting, but on the other hand, the Kazekage was right, and he knew that Gaara was strong. Besides, he couldn't imagine himself to just let others do the fighting for him, either.

Gaara sat back down and addressed the Nara, "I will be the one to lure Deidara away from Sasori and fight him."

"Alone?" Kiba questioned.

"Oi, doggie," Kankurou snapped at the other brunette, "don't underestimate my baby brother!"

"Right," Temari supported him, "he's Kazekage for a reason, you know?"

Gaara suppressed the urge to roll his eyes at the childish but supportive display of his older siblings. "I thank you for believing in me, Temari, Kankurou," he said and threw a playful glare at Naruto, who then huffed and mumbled something about never saying he didn't believe in him.

"Deidara is a long-range fighter and so am I," Gaara started again, "and since we'll be fighting in the middle of the desert, I'll have an uncountable amount of sand at my disposal."

"All right," Shikamaru agreed, already adjusting the battle plan in his quick mind, "but I want Temari and Kankurou to go with you." As he felt Gaara's intent gaze on him, he quickly added, "Just in case!"

Temari and Kankurou looked rather pleased about their new role.

"I'll join you, too," Kakashi's deep voice was suddenly heard. He gave them all a cheery eye-smile and Naruto could swear the jounin had been waiting for an opportunity to join the fighting for some time already.

"Fine," Shikamaru said, again adjusting the plan, "So we will have two teams with four people each. This should work even better."

He remained silent for a moment, thinking, and then started explaining where he left off, "According to the informant, Sasori is using a puppet armour he calls Hiruko, which itself can be regarded as a very powerful weapon. So in order to fight him properly, we need to get rid of the armour first."

Shikamaru's eyes scanned the others, trying to see whether they were all following his explanations. Their faces were serious, even Neji's and Gaara's normally passive faces showed thoughtful frowns. Naruto had his arms crossed over his chest, a scowl on his foxy features.

He started again, "The strategy I came up with is very similar to the InoShikaChou-formation, I used with my old team. After we split them up, I will catch Sasori in my Shadow technique, so he won't be able to move. Then Kiba," he pointed at the Inuzuka, "will destroy the puppet armour with his _Gatsuga."_

This was the first part of their plan. It sounded nice and easy and Shikamaru hoped that it was going to be just that. According to Itachi's information, Sasori was hiding his real body under the outer armour. And apparently, the puppet master had turned his human body into a puppet, as wel. While Itachi knew some of the hidden weapons Sasori had put on his own puppet-person, the Uchiha had also said that Sasori made regular adjustments to it. So they did not know for sure what they were going to face once the outer armour had been crushed.

This was going to be the tricky second part. "We don't know what kind of weapons we will be facing, but we can be sure of one thing. They will be absolutely deadly. Sasori likes to drench all his weapons in poison. The informant managed to get the formula of one of his favourite poisons and Tsunade-sama made us an antidote, but we still cannot fully rely on it, since we don't know whether he's still using this exact poison. So we need to stay clear of his weapons as best as we can, just to be on the safe side."

Shikamaru took a deep breath. The brunette wasn't used to talking this much all at once. "Apparently, Sasori stored his heart in a device in his chest. Even if he turned himself into puppet, there needs to be at least some part of him that keeps him living. Our actual goal is to destroy said device. If we manage to destroy it, we will kill him."

"Beware of his famous Red Secret Technique," Kankurou spoke up, "He is known for being able to control an insanely large number of puppets all at once." Respect for the enemy swung in his voice. Kankurou was also a puppeteer, but compared to Sasori, he was still a child.

Itachi had given them an overall idea of the puppet techniques, but since Itachi only knew what his eyes deduced from watching Sasori fight, his information on it was vague. In the two weeks Kakashi had been in Suna, Kankurou had tried to find every piece of information on the former Sand-nin.

"So just to check if I got you right, Nara," Temari looked at the genius, "Once you destroyed Sasori's puppet armour, your plan is mainly just to not get in touch with his poisonous blades and then to simply destroy his heart... Don't you think it will be a lot more difficult than that?" She squinted her eyes suspiciously.

"It does sound rather easy right now," Naruto came to Shikamaru's help, "but as we don't know what's waiting for us under Sasori's armour, we just have to improvise. More or less..."

Naruto didn't like the idea either, but that was just the way it was going to be. And it was not as if Sasori was a completely unknown enemy. They already knew a lot about his techniques and fighting style. And once they had trained with Kankurou, Naruto was sure that they would have at least the advantage of knowing how to counter a puppeteer. The rest was up to their team work and their own ability.

They talked for a while and eventually the topic of Deidara's fighting style came up.

"His Kekkei Genkai is the Explosion Release," Naruto said, "before he joined the Akatsuki and became a missing-nin, he was part of the Explosion Corps of Iwagakure."

"He kneads his chakra into clay with mouths in the palm of his hands, forming sculptures and the likes, which explode," Shikamaru elaborated. "He can set them off from a distance, so he tries to get them into range of the opponent."

Gaara took in the information, although he had read as much already in the scroll that Kakashi had brought with him. It was an advantage for Gaara that he knew he needed to avoid his soon-to-be opponent's clay. But probably that again was easier said than done.

There were a lot of yet unknown variables in their battle plan, but it was the best they could come up with. And even though they didn't know every little detail, they had the advantage that they were taking the fight to the Akatsuki instead of waiting for the two to attack Sunagakure.

Naruto watched the others as they were coming up with a training schedule for the next week. They mustn't exhaust themselves, since they would need all their energy for the actual battle.

The blond teen's face showed a mixture of fierce determination and sorrow. Gaara was the only one, who noticed his furrowed brow. He nudged his best friend gently into the side and he turned to him, an eyebrow raised in question. The redhead just looked into the other's ocean blue eyes and finally gave him a small, encouraging smile. Naruto's face softened and even though he didn't manage a real smile, the look in his eyes told Gaara that he appreciated the comforting gesture.

* * *

><p>One week later Team Naruto and Team Gaara, as both had been dubbed for now, were resting up. Later that night they would set out. It was likely that the Akatsuki team was planning on attacking Suna in the night or early morning hours, when everyone was sleeping and unsuspecting. So they'd leave in the night and meet the two criminals before they reached the Hidden Village.<p>

They just had diner together in the Kazekage's mansion and everyone had left for their rooms, catching some last sleep.

The only one still up was a blond ANBU captain, who was currently sitting on the mansion's roof. It was a quiet night and he marvelled at how peaceful everything appeared. None of the villagers was expecting anything. Gaara had managed to raise the security without the people actually taking notice of it.

His thoughts were on the coming fight. He wouldn't say he was afraid, but he knew that this was going to be his very first big battle. This was going to be the time to prove himself. It would show whether his plan of hunting down the Akatsuki was a good idea or just foolish self-overestimation on his part.

But what he feared the most...

"Mind if I join you, Naruto?" Gaara's gentle voice sounded from the darkness behind him. He had been to engrossed in his own thoughts that he didn't even notice him approaching. That must not happen tomorrow.

Naruto patted the place next to him with his hand and the redhead sat down.

"Can't sleep?" Naruto asked, his voice a mere whisper in the cooling desert night.

Gaara shook his head next to him. Both were staring into the night, the sleeping village under them. What would these people do, if they knew that tomorrow their leader might be killed in battle, trying to protect the village he came to love so much?

Gaara laid back down onto the roof and motioned for Naruto to do the same. The sight of the clear desert sky, sparkling with myriads of stars, almost took Naruto's breath away. An ocean of lights, some small, some big.

"What is worrying you?" Gaara asked quietly.

The blond remained silent for a moment. He was worrying about so much that he didn't even know where to start right now. But what he worried about the most... "My team... and you..."

"Don't worry about us, Naruto. You chose your team well, I saw them in training. All three are very skilled and none of them will disappoint you tomorrow."

"I'm not worried about them disappointing me... I just don't want them to get hurt, you know?" His eyes were still wandering over the starlit sky.

"Of course I know. But believe me, they are as worried about you, as you are about them. It's only natural, Naru."

"But what if..." he trailed off, not being able to say it out loud.

"What if any of us is killed?" Gaara finished for him, a grave tone in his voice. "We were all aware of the risks when we agreed to this mission. I don't say we are prepared to die, because that would be giving up before actually trying." Gaara turned his head to look at Naruto's profile. His blue eyes were dark in the night, but illuminated by the stars.

"I know," the blond sighed, "I just wished I could fight them alone, you know? So that none of you is in danger." He ran a weary hand over his eyes and turned to look at his fellow Jinchuuriki.

"Naruto," Gaara smiled, "you still don't seem to get it." He shifted and moved closer to Naruto, taking his hand. "You don't have to face this alone, Naruto. As much as I respect your wish to protect us all, there's no longer the need for you to do so."

He was so close to him that Naruto felt his warm breath on his face. "You're not alone any more, Naruto. There are people who are more than willing to help you. You chose your team knowing that you won't be able to face the Akatsuki alone. You just have to start trusting them and start seeing them as what they are. The guys are doing this for you, too."

Gaara squeezed his hand in comfort. Naruto lay there, next to his best friend under the starry desert sky, and it felt like once again Gaara had managed to take some of the weight on his shoulders off of him. A grateful smile graced his lips, but the redhead could more feel than see it. His silent presence was so comforting that Naruto didn't even feel his eyelids close. The two Jinchuuriki fell asleep next to each other, both of them feeling a bit more confident about the coming day.

* * *

><p>A smiling Temari and a smirking Shikamaru found the two sleeping demon-containers a few hours later. They were ready to leave and the only ones still missing were Naruto and Gaara.<p>

"Aren't they sweet together?" Temari grinned, although she knew that there was nothing more than friendship between the two teenagers.

Shikamaru shrugged and Temari gently shook the two awake.

Naruto yawned and they both got up, stretching. He felt a little stiff from falling asleep on the roof, but on the other hand, he had slept so well that he felt rested and ready to go.

"Get changed and meet us downstairs," Temari said bossily.

The two younger boys nodded and did as the were told.

Naruto shared a room with Shikamaru during their stay and as the older brunette had already changed, Naruto was alone. He changed into his ANBU uniform. This was supposed to be an ANBU mission after all. He fastened the grey armour around his torso and put on the metal arm guards. His hands were protected by fingerless black gloves with a metal plate on the back of the hand.

He took the Konoha Hitai-ate from his pouch and tied it tightly around his head. The long ends of the cloth fell freely down his neck. Almost finished, he grabbed his katana and the ANBU Weasel mask.

Naruto was good to go.

* * *

><p>A small group of shinobi was gathering at the huge gates of Sunagakure in the middle of the night. The only people still awake were the guards and the members of said group. Gaara gave the last introductions to Baki, who was in charge until his return.<p>

The eight people walked through the huge walls of the sandy gate and left the fortifications of the village. The desert air was cold in the night and all of them were grateful for the cloaks, which were both meant to keep them warm as well as to hide their identities.

One of the black-clad figures stopped walking when they were some distance away from Suna. The others turned to him.

Naruto pushed back his hood for the others to see his face. He had yet to put on his mask. His ocean blue eyes focused for a moment on Kankurou, Temari and lastly Kakashi. He didn't need to say anything. Everything had been said already and everyone knew what their were getting into.

Naruto inclined his head at the three and gave everyone a feral grin.

"Let's roll, guys!"

Kankurou, Temari and Kakashi left the other five, jumping away into the direction of the previously appointed rendezvous point. Once Gaara had managed to get Deidara to chase after him, he would meet the others far away from both the village and Sasori, for that neither would interfere with the battle against the explosion expert.

Naruto put on his mask and pulled the hood back over his hair and face. At his command the others followed him, running straight into the desert, towards the enemy.

* * *

><p>They had been running for nearly an hour, when Naruto stopped. It was the sign for the others to stop as well and they gathered next to him.<p>

"Neji," was all he needed to say for the Hyuuga to begin scanning their surroundings with his Byakugan.

"Two people in black cloaks with red clouds. Target in sight. Approximately two miles away," he stated matter-of-factly.

"All right, we're going to wait here for them," Naruto decided, "keep hiding your chakra completely," he reminded the others, but they were all doing so anyway.

"Let them come to us," the blond captain grinned evilly under his mask, "It's show time."

* * *

><p><em>(1) Gatsuga: Fang Passing Fang: <em>_The user and his partner spin at a ferocious speed and deliver many powerful beast-like attacks when contact is made with the target. The force of this attack is strong enough to drill through stone. This attack can be done alone._

* * *

><p><strong><em>Thanks for reading!<em>**

**_This chapter is like the introduction to the actual battle. I already started with the fighting scenes, but I'm really having some difficulties with those... I hope they're going to turn out okay... But please be patient with me, I won't release the next chapter until I am satisfied with what I wrote!_**

**_Also, before I release the next chapter, I will change the Rating from T to M, because there's going to be some swearing and I'll just change it to M to be on the safe side! Just so you know and won't be confused._**

**_I was also thinking about whether I should continue with this version of the story. As some of you might know there is also a FemNaru version of this story and in comparison, this version is getting very little attention. And I was wondering why... Does it suck so much? The reviews I get are great and I appreciate them. But I really like to know, why people might not like this story... Maybe I should just save myself the trouble of writing two versions and concentrate on the FemNaru version instead. Tell me your opinion on it, please._**

**_Tell me how you liked the chapter and I'd love to hear some advice on how to write good fighting scenes!_**

**_xXHaneliXx_**


	12. Chapter 12

_**The author says:**_ Hello guys and welcome to the longest chapter so far.

First of all I need to thank all of you amazing people, who helped me with this! I always read every single review, and this time I actually read some of them several times, because I tried to take all the advise on how to write fight scenes to heart! Thanks so much for that and sorry to the reviewers I didn't thank personally.

I really hope this turned out okay. I'm not a hundred percent sure about this and I really had to force myself to finish this. It was annoying to write, as I had to look up all the Jutsus. I also noticed that my vocabulary on things such as fighting or describing things like Sasori's hidden weapons, was quite limited. I still have the feeling I'm using the same words over and over again in this chapter, but I tried my best with this.

Please leave me your opinion on it, even if you say it totally sucked, at least I'll know what my readers thinks. I really don't want to disappoint, but I hope you have fun reading!

Oh and also note that I changed the rating from T to M. For this chapter and of course for things to come.

**I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

><p><strong>'He had no idea'<strong>

**Chapter 12**

* * *

><p><em><strong>I've never been afraid of the highest heights<br>Or afraid of flying now  
>I've never been afraid of the wildest fights<br>Not afraid of dying**_

_**But now I want off this ride 'cause you're scaring me and I don't like where we're going**_

**- 'Changed The Way You Kissed Me' by Example**

* * *

><p><em>They had been running for nearly an hour, when Naruto stopped. It was the sign for the others to stop as well and they came to stand next to him.<em>

_"Neji," was all he needed to say for the Hyuuga to begin scanning their surroundings with his Byakugan._

_"Two people in black cloaks with red clouds. Target in sight. Approximately two miles away," he stated matter-of-factly._

_"All right, we're going to wait here for them," Naruto decided, "keep hiding your chakra completely," he reminded the others, but they were all doing so anyway._

_"Let them come to us," the blond captain grinned evilly under his mask, "It's show time."_

The guys around him shifted slightly. Shikamaru and Gaara, whose eyes were not as sharp as the others', tried to make out the approaching criminals in the darkness.

Naruto turned to his left, where Gaara was standing. He stepped closer to his friend and pushed the Weasel mask onto his head.

His ocean blue eyes locked with Gaara's teal ones. His face was serious and the scowl on it seemed to have become permanent over the last week.

Gaara returned Naruto's intent gaze. He nodded. They didn't need to say anything. They understood each other without words.

_Be careful._

_Don't you dare get killed._

_Come back alive. Back to me._

Naruto gave him a curt nod and he returned Gaara's blossoming smirk with his evil grin. The mask back over Naruto's face, he faced the dark desert again.

What had been a beautiful starlit sky only hours before, now felt like a myriad of eyes watching them; waiting for the outcome of the mission.

It felt like an eternity until the two cloaked criminals finally came fully into view. One was hunched over and appeared to be crawling – _Sasori._ The taller one had blond hair, that was up in a rather girly pony tail that somehow reminded Naruto of Ino. This one was Deidara.

* * *

><p>Deidara was not in a good mood. Actually, he was pissed. His master – Sasori-sama – was getting on his nerves. Even if their argument about whose art was the <em>real art<em>, was years old by now, the two never ended it. There was just no way for them to find an answer that pleased both of them. Art was a blast after all!

And now Sasori was even questioning Deidara's abilities. Or rather, he was questioning whether Deidara was prepared for the fight against the Ichibi's Jinchuuriki. Of course he was. Deidara might be young, but he was no idiot. He was strong and was absolutely convinced of his explosive bombs and sure that the Kazekage would be overpowered by his display of booming art.

Deidara was certain that the one pouch of clay he had brought with him on this mission was more than enough to defeat the Kazekage. They had information on him and apparently the boy – as Deidara refused to acknowledge the sixteen-year-old as a man yet – was not very skilled in close combat. Not that it mattered anyway, as Deidara was a long-range fighter, and he didn't intend on letting Gaara get behind his explosive defence.

Also, the Kazekage was devoted to his village and word was he would rather die than let harm come to his people. That was one of their major advantages. When they surprised Sunagakure in the middle of the night, no one would be ready to fight back and the Kazekage would have to be painfully careful to keep his village safe, while defending himself.

They were approximately an hour away from Sunagakure and Deidara's anticipation increased. He would show his stupid puppet-loving master how to properly defeat a Jinchuuriki. This would finally end their stupid debate about the true nature of art. And it would improve Deidara's reputation and Leader-sama was going to be very pleased with him.

"Do you see that?" Sasori's hoarse, growling voice interrupted his thoughts.

"See what, un?" Deidara asked unintelligently, turning his head wildly, making the bells on his straw-hat jingle.

"In front of us, Deidara."

The blond squinted his eyes, trying to make out what Sasori was talking about. He put two fingers on his left temple, activating his binocular and zoomed in. Then he saw it. Or rather them. He counted five people standing in the middle of the desert, facing them.

"Are they waiting for us, Sasori-sama?" he asked, uncertain.

"I don't let people wait, Deidara. And no, they are not here on my orders."

Deidara rolled his eyes under the shelter of his straw-hat. His master had some weird time issues. "So who are they, un?"

"I wouldn't be asking you, if I knew," Sasori growled, impatience thick in his voice, "Let's find out. Either they're masking their chakra completely or they are civilians. Which I highly doubt, though."

They slowly got closer to the small group of cloaked people. Sasori's stupid puppet armour was really slowly, it annoyed Deidara every time they went on a mission together.

The two S-class missing-nin stopped several feet away from the group.

"Let me do the talki –" Sasori started, but was cut off by his young and impulsive partner.

"Who are you, un? And what are you doing in the middle of the desert in the middle of the night?" the blond called out to the people.

One of them stepped forward. It was the person on the very left.

"I could ask you the same," a gentle but strong voice answered, "You are trespassing on _my _desert after all."

"So this is _your_ desert, un?" Deidara mocked, but then it clicked. "Hey, are you the Kazekage?"

Sasori suppressed the urge to slash Deidara with his steal scorpion tail.

Gaara pushed the hood of his dark cloak over his head and revealed his vibrant red hair, the teal eyes and the tattoo with the kanji for 'love' on his forehead.

Deidara took in the appearance of the Jinchuuriki they were supposed to kidnap. What was he doing here, awaiting them?

"What are you doing here, un? You're supposed to be in Suna," the blond Akatsuki-member called, voicing his confusion.

Again, Sasori next to him was tempted to just chop the young man's head off.

"And you're not supposed to attack my village," Gaara said calmly but decisively, "You are after me, so leave my people out of it."

Gaara threw off his cloak and revealed the large gourd tied to his back. His muscles tensed as he got ready to take off. So far, everything was going according to plan. They had not been attacked and apparently Deidara was even more immature than Itachi had let on.

A cocky smirk appeared on Gaara's normally neutral face and he focused on Deidara. "Catch me!" he whispered teasingly, "If you can!"

Without needing to use any hand seals, his sand began pouring out of his gourd and a dense platform of sorts formed in front of him, hovering a feet over the sandy ground _(1)_. He jumped on it and the sand platform hovered higher. At an unspoken command, it started moving and Gaara raced off into the darkness of the desert.

"Oi, wait, will you, un!" Deidara loudly complained. He threw a tiny bird clay sculpture on the sand to his feet and with a single-handed hand seal, the bird grew in size, now several feet taller than Deidara himself. The blond jumped on its back and made to take off.

"Deidara, wait this is –" but once again Sasori's growling voice was cut off by Deidara.

"Don't worry, Sasori-sama, it's my job to catch him. Just wait, it won't take long!" Deidara's clay bird spread his wings and the two were gone.

" – a trap," Sasori finished lamely, his warning going unheard by his young partner.

Being alone now, Sasori faced the other four cloaked figures. They had not said anything so far and as their chakra was still hidden, he could not estimate how strong these people were. But the fact that they were able to completely hide their chakra signature from him, was already a feat.

* * *

><p>The blond captain watched Gaara and Deidara's departure through the holes of his ANBU mask. Everything was going according to plan and he was actually surprised that luring Deidara away had been so easy. <em>Child's play.<em>

But now he needed to concentrate on the hunched figure in front of him. Sasori wasn't speaking, probably trying to comprehend what was happening.

Naruto's fingers moved mere millimetres, but it was sign enough for Shikamaru to start his jutsu.

The Nara formed the rat hand seal and his shadow raced towards the still staring and unsuspecting Sasori. The combination of darkness and the speed in which Shikamaru's shadow closed in on the man, made it impossible for his bulky puppet to react.

"_Kagemane no Jutsu_ _(2)_ successful," Shikamaru whispered, voice laced with satisfaction.

This was the sign for Kiba to attack. He and Akamaru jumped towards the immobilized Sasori. "_Gastuuga!_" _(3)_ Kiba shouted and both began spinning at an incredible speed.

Naruto and Neji watched, both holding their breath. Was this going to work?

Kiba and Akamaru darted forward and hit the puppet armour from both sides. There was a millisecond of resistance, but the armour soon gave in.

It burst apart. The puppet armour Hiruko was destroyed.

Second part of the plan – _accomplished._

Kiba and Akamaru landed back next to the others.

Shikamaru's Shadow Binding Technique broke and the team saw a figure jump away from the remnants of the puppet.

The figure stood still, some feet away, now obviously alarmed. Neji and Naruto shared a look. They were about to attack, when a surprisingly high voice sounded from where Sasori now stood.

A mirthless chuckle sounded through the darkness. "I see, you people don't waste time, I like that."

Naruto watched Sasori as his head came up and his face was revealed in the pale moonlight. His hair colour was almost the same as Gaara's. His face was young and actually beautiful, but Naruto wasn't fooled. He knew that this was only a human puppet. The man Sasori himself was already older. And experienced, he mustn't forget that.

"You destroyed my armour surprisingly fast. It appears you know about my secret techniques," the redhead said, his voice no longer hoarse and growling. "And you separated me and my partner, knowing that we are after the Kazekage. It makes me wonder, who I am facing. Who are you and where did you get all the information from?"

Sasori's body was hidden behind his black and red Akatsuki cloak. Naruto watched him closely, looking for the smallest sign of an attack.

In a perfectly synchronized motion, all four Leaf-nin shed their cloaks, revealing their masked faces.

"ANBU," Sasori whispered to himself. He regarded them in the darkness. Four obviously male shinobi. Judging by the way the one on the left held himself, he was the captain of the team. But their masks were not those of the Sunagakure ANBU. He searched his memories and finally decided on them to be from Konoha. _Interesting._

"Why do I fight Konoha ANBU when I mean to attack the Village of Sand?" he asked, his voice not betraying his curiosity.

The figure he had deduced to be the captain started walking towards him. The puppet master watched him closely. He still didn't feel any chakra coming from him. By now he was sure that it meant this captain was strong. Why else hide your signature this long?

"Akasuna no Sasori," a rather light voice spoke up. It was actually pleasant, but the cold tone in it told another story. "You made a mistake coming here tonight."

So they even knew his name. They were obviously well-informed. Intrigued, Sasori played the game, "Oh, why is that?"

Had his puppet body needed to breathe, he probably would have gasped from the sudden killing intent that was rolling over him like a tsunami. He had never felt anything like it before. His former Akatsuki partner, Orochimaru, had one fierce killing intent, but compared to this, it was a mere tickle. _Who is this person?_

"Because," the voice said – there was a feeling to it now, that made the criminal wonder how he could ever have called this voice pleasant – "tonight is the night you will die."

"Have the courtesy to tell me your name, if you intend to kill me," Sasori demanded.

As if he had waited for the invitation, Naruto pulled the hood off his head and pushed the mask up enough for Sasori to see his face.

Sasori recognized those features immediately. They had pictures of all the Jinchuurikis. But what was the Nine-Tail's container doing here? Weren't Itachi and Kisame supposed to be hunting the boy?

"Uzumaki Naruto," Sasori stated, "it seems that _I_ am the lucky one tonight. Leader-sama will be pleased, if we return with two Jinchuuriki."

Naruto covered his face with his mask again. The time for exchanging words was over. He had meant it when he said he was going to kill Sasori tonight.

Slowly, Naruto freed his katana from the sheath on his back. The blade reflected the pale moonlight. For him, Kiba and Neji it didn't matter that they were fighting in darkness. They had exceptionally good eyes and none of them was hindered by the lack of actual light. The only one who had no enhanced eyesight was Shikamaru, but neither had Sasori.

Neji walked up to Naruto. His Byakugan saw through the cloak of the puppeteer. "The device with his heart is in his chest, slightly to the left, where the heart usually is, taichou," he informed his captain and also confirmed Itachi's information.

Naruto nodded. He was going to give it a first shot. They didn't know what kind of tricks Sasori had up his sleeves. So just charging him, luring him out, was the current plan of action.

Naruto gripped his katana with both hands, holding it up in front of him almost vertically. Swinging the sword over his head, he charged his opponent.

* * *

><p>Gaara threw a look over his shoulder. <em>Perfect.<em> Deidara was really following him. Hadn't this trap been kind of too obvious? However, it worked, and that was all that counted at the moment.

Gaara flew through the desert on his sand. The darkness sped by him in a blur. He was still some distance away from the rendezvous point, but it didn't matter. His task right now was just luring Deidara away from his partner and the village. The fighting would start once they'd arrived.

Deidara saw the Jinchuuriki flying several feet in front of him. His clay bird was heavier than the Kazekage's sand and he didn't manage to catch up to him. Yet.

Deidara briefly wondered about how easy it had been to convince Sasori to let him fight the Jinchuuriki alone. Their plan had been to attack the village, but whatever. Plans change, right? As long as Deidara was able to prove himself, it was fine with him. Besides, there were still those other four shady people. So Sasori probably wouldn't be bored until his return.

He just needed to make this quick. He already heard his master's bitching about his tardiness. He sighed and fuelled more chakra into his bird. Better to get this over with quickly.

* * *

><p>Naruto swung his katana down at Sasori's head. A 'clang' sounded through the silence of the desert night.<p>

Sasori had managed to attach his chakra strings to the metal tail of his Hiruko puppet. It was blocking Naruto's blade just in front of his body.

Naruto jumped back. Reflexively, he blocked an attack from the tail. He saw and even smelled the purple poison dripping from the weapon. He mustn't let it touch him.

Defending himself from the moving tail, he was pushed back. This was not going to work.

The blond channelled wind chakra into his katana and the blade began glowing, blueish. The tail aimed for his arm, he dodged it, whirled around and brought his sword down on the tail.

The wind chakra enhanced blade cut through the tail like a hot knife through butter. Naruto continued and chopped off piece after piece of the annoying weapon.

While his captain was taking care of the tail, Shikamaru was trying to once again catch Sasori in one of his shadow techniques. But this time, the shinobi knew what the shadow creeping towards him meant.

Sasori jumped back, evading the shadow on the floor. Forgotten was the tail, it was useless now anyway.

Shikamaru smirked.

Sasori's puppet eyes widened in surprise as he felt someone coming up behind him.

His Byakugan activated, Neji easily saw that the chakra system of Sasori's puppet body was not like the human chakra system. Instead of having tenketsu points, the main amount of Sasori's chakra was gathered in the device within his heart. There weren't many places for Neji's Tirgrams Palm to hit.

Making his decision, Neji directly aimed for the device in Sasori's chest. Maybe he could end this with just one blow.

But before his outstretched fingers could connect with the human puppet, he heard a clicking sound and a mechanism on Sasori's back opened under his cloak. The Akatsuki robe was torn apart as two metal poles extended from his hips. They ended in several curved blades, which began rotating like propellers.

Neji could stop his attack in the last moment. He staggered back, losing his balance from the sudden change of direction.

The mere millisecond of unsure footing was enough for one of the sharp blades of the propellers to slice his retreating hand. The Hyuuga hissed, more from surprise than from actual pain.

Naruto clapped his hands twice. It was the sign for the others to retreat to him. The captain had seen how Neji's normally controlled face contorted in surprise. He must've been hit.

The team gathered around him, bringing several feet of sand between themselves and the opponent.

Neji was already opening his medical pouch with his uninjured hand and searching for the syringe with the antidote.

Naruto was keeping an eye on both his team mate and the opponent. This was a good opportunity for the criminal to strike back.

Neji found the syringe and handed it to Shikamaru. The Nara pulled off the safety cap and pushed the needle into Neji's deltoid muscle.

There was a moment of tense silence when they all thought the same thing. _Let it be the right antidote._

* * *

><p>Gaara's eyes scanned the dark desert. In one hour the sun would begin to rise. Until then, they'd fight in darkness.<p>

The little rock formation, that was their meeting point, came into view and Gaara slowed down. He felt Deidara's chakra signature closing in behind him. The blond had actually chased him through half of the desert.

As he approached the rocks, he searched for his siblings' and Kakashi's chakra. They were not hiding it, but keeping it low. They were there, waiting for him.

But he had told them not to interfere until it looked like he was really losing. Not that he intended to go there.

Gaara stopped, hovering in the air, carried by his sand. He began infusing the surrounding desert sand with his chakra. It would make it easier later, if he needed to make use of it. While the sand in his gourd was mixed with his chakra the whole time, he could also command sand that was not in his gourd, but it afforded more chakra.

Deidara saw his prey stop. Smirking, he closed in; one hand in his clay pouch, the mouth on it already chewing the clay and infusing it with his chakra.

"So you're finally tired of running away from me, un?" the blond called out, trying to get his opponent riled up. But his teasing went unnoticed by Gaara. It took a lot more for him to get really angry and emotional.

"It took you long enough to catch up to me," Gaara stated in his neutral voice.

"Tche, I don't think I like the way you're looking down on me, un," Deidara said, squinting his eyes at Gaara, "But I will get some emotion on that pretty face of yours." He pulled his hand out from under his cloak and threw what looked like three clay pigeons into the air. "And it will be pain!" he declared and a maniacal grin split his face.

Gaara tensed, he knew these were the explosives Itachi had warned them about.

He saw Deidara make a single-handed seal. The pigeons raced towards him.

"Katsu!" Deidara shouted and immediately, the three clay sculptures exploded.

Gaara's Ultimate Defence came up as a sandy wall around him. He had gambled, trying to find out whether Deidara's attacks were faster than his automatic defence. They weren't.

Sand broke away from the spot where the explosions had hit the defence, but nothing had gotten through. The impact was swallowed by his sand.

Satisfied, Gaara raised his arms. He needed neither hand seals nor actual contact with his sand to control it.

Mesmerized by the display of Gaara's arm-waving, Deidara was almost too late to dodge the sand bullets that came flying at him _(4)_. He manoeuvred his bird to evade most of them, but still some managed to shoot through the bird's wings, causing it to lurch about in the sky.

Deidara cursed loudly. This boy was starting to piss him off.

Flying higher into the air to get away from the bullets, Deidara prepared his next attack.

"I'm going to show you my C1 bombs _(5), _un," a number of small insect-like creatures crawled out of his left palm. He took aim and threw the clay insect at his opponent.

This time, Gaara was prepared for the bombs. He waited for them and as he saw Deidara form the tiger hand seal, his defence came up.

Deidara allowed himself a victorious grin, as the sand wall fell away to reveal the still body of the Kazekage. Obviously, his explosives had been too much for the sand shield. Manoeuvring his bird closer to the unconscious boy, his sole attention was on what happened in front of him.

He didn't see the huge wall of desert sand coming up behind him; so huge, that it was casting a shadow over Deidara's form even in the dark, moonlit night. It rose from the ground, almost soundlessly starting to grab for the blond missing-nin.

Gaara stretched his arms higher over his head, ordering his sand to close in on his opponent.

The seemingly unconscious body of the Jinchuuriki melted away; it had only been a Sand Clone. Finally sensing the danger looming above and behind him, Deidara looked up, his eyes widened in shock, as he had less than a second to take in the terrifying sight of Gaara's attack.

Gaara's hand clenched, "_Sabaku Rou (Desert Prison)." (6)_

The sand swallowed Deidara together with his clay bird. A large sphere built itself around the caught blond. With another flick of Gaara's hand, the sand prison tightened.

Gaara's teal eyes watched the cloud of sand hanging in the air over him. He was sure that this was not enough to kill Deidara, but it would leave him definitely injured and weakened.

Gaara prepared for his next move, when suddenly the night sky lit up in a blinding explosion.

* * *

><p>Still keeping an eye on Sasori, Naruto's heart was beating frantically against his ribcage. If this was not the right antidote, Neji would be dead within three minutes. And he was their only medic nin. Would he make it to Suna in only three minutes? It had taken them one hour to get here, they were truly in the middle of nowhere. There was not much hope, if...<p>

"Guys, three minutes are over," Kiba said hesitantly, not sure whether the danger of the poison had truly passed.

Neji looked up at his team mates from his sitting position on the sand. He moved his arms, clenched his fists, waggled his toes. "I think I'm fine," he said. More certain, he added, "Everything feels normal, the antidote's working."

Naruto briefly glanced at him, assuring himself of Neji's well-being. He let out a small sigh of relief.

But he regretted it the moment his eyes were back on Sasori.

The criminal looked at them; a creepy smile on his young puppet face. "I see you even know the formula for the antidote to my favourite poison," he said, his voice still void of any emotion, "I guess this means we have a traitor in our midst."

Naruto followed the movement of the man's hands. A scroll dropped out of his cloak and into his open hand.

"Who is it, I wonder," the criminal mused, "Is it an active member? Or maybe you met up with my old partner Orochimaru?"

He raised his arm, holding the scroll in front of him.

"But last I heard, poor Orochimaru was killed by his ambitious student," he said, still in his eerie, emotionless voice.

Naruto's lips curled up in an involuntary snarl. He just couldn't stand hearing the Snake Sannin's name. And the man better stopped talking about Sasuke.

"So the traitor must still be an active member." Sasori unrolled the scroll. "I wonder, who it is. Maybe you will tell me after I defeat you all. And make you part of my human puppet collection."

Naruto's demonic eyes easily made out what was written on the scroll. It was a seal, the number 'three' under it.

"This one is my favourite," Sasori explained to the staring ANBU team, "I will show you real puppetry now."

The scroll glowed, as he channelled his chakra into it. As the seal was released, smoke obscured their view on the criminal.

Naruto squinted his eyes. What was going on? He had given his opponent too much time to prepare an attack, while Neji had recovered from the poisoning. Naruto had hoped they could defeat Sasori before he could make use of his puppet techniques. But that had obviously been wishful thinking. They were facing an S-class criminal after all.

The smoke cleared and revealed a dark-clad puppet, hovering in the air in front of the redhead. Naruto saw the faint glow of the chakra threads, that connected Sasori's fingertips and the puppet.

"From your lack of reaction, I assume that you have no idea, whom you are facing," Sasori stated, taking in the blank stares of Naruto's team.

Naruto began to wonder whether he should know this person – or rather puppet. Sasori's words indicated that this was another of his infamous human puppets. Whoever it was, he didn't know him and after seeing his team mates' clueless faces, Naruto was sure that they didn't know him either.

"I don't care who your little friend is," Naruto called out, his muscles tensing, "but you better say good-bye to your favourite plaything."

An eerie chuckle filled the distance between them. "Your ignorance is almost sweet, boy. But please let me tell you who this is. You have the honour of facing the Third Kazekage."

Shikamaru's eyebrows shot up. Leaning over to his captain, he spoke quietly, "The Third Kazekage is supposed to be the strongest of all the previous Kazekage. He disappeared without a trace and his body was never found. I think he used some kind of sand technique, similar to Gaara's."

Naruto didn't take his eyes off the new threat while listening to Shikamaru's input. Apparently, Itachi had not known about this or otherwise he'd have told them about it. Naruto shrugged, "It really doesn't matter who this puppet is or was, all I care about is eliminating it so we can kill Sasori and get this over with!"

The blond captain turned slightly to his team mates. "Neji," he began giving orders, "you stay with me. Shikamaru, Kiba, you will try to attack Sasori's body directly, while Neji and I distract him."

Three nods where his answer and Kiba and Shikamaru scattered away. Naruto locked eyes with Neji. "Let's do this," he said, determined, and an excited smirk crept back on his lips.

"Taichou," Neji smirked back at him, liking Naruto's attitude.

His katana still in hand, Naruto raised it in front of him and dashed towards the puppet.

Sasori spread his arms wide, fingers moving in the air. The puppet shot forwards accordingly, speeding towards the advancing Jinchuuriki.

Naruto's blade came down. At a flick of Sasori's finger, the puppet's left arms spread, a set of curved blades dripping with poison blocked the blond's sword. Naruto was pushed back from the force of the retractable blades, just barely avoiding the sharp weapons.

His heels dug into the sandy ground as he came to a stop next to Neji. Their eyes were on the puppet, as it lifted its other arm. With popping joints the wooden arm split in the middle, several compartments opening. Summoning seals were attached on the inside of each. A short blue glow indicated the activation of the hidden technique.

Hundreds of puppet arms escaped the seals, growing, lengthening, shooting at Neji and Naruto; wooden hands grabbing to catch them.

Both easily avoided the attack, splitting up. The arms crashed into the sand, wood breaking and becoming useless.

Sasori smirked. A pipe opened from one of the arms, emitting a cloud of purple poisonous gas.

Seeing the cloud of poison spreading, Naruto stabbed his katana into the sand in front of him. With his now free hands he went through well-practised hand seals. "_Futon: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)," (7) _he yelled, inhaling deeply, and a gust of wind escaped his mouth. Its force blew away the poison and with it the danger.

"I'm not done yet," Sasori announced, the smallest hint of annoyance in his voice now. The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki and his team were not as easy to defeat as he had first assumed. But like he had said, he was most certainly not done yet.

His puppet moved, detaching the now useless arm. The Third Kazekage opened his mouth, releasing a dark powder into the air.

"This is the Sand Village's most feared weapon," Sasori explained to the four unknowing shinobi, "The Sandaime Kazekage's Iron Sand."

Unfazed, Naruto stared back at the redhead. _Iron Sand, _he mused, _the difference between normal sand and this one can't be too big. _And Naruto had fought Gaara so many times by now, that he knew very well how to counter his attacks. This was something he actually knew how to fight against.

"Neji," Naruto whispered to the brunette, glad they were out of Sasori's hearing range, "I'll fight him and you wait for an opening to destroy the Kazekage's puppet body."

Neji gave a curt nod and left him alone. He landed several feet away, in a safe distance of Naruto's attacking range. With his Byakugan activated, he easily saw the chakra threads running from Sasori's fingertips to the Kazekage's limbs. There was a compartment filled with chakra in the human puppet's chest, similar to Sasori's own body. It was the chakra source of the Third Kazekage. But in order to fully disable the puppet, Neji needed to completely destroy it.

His pale eyes watched as bullets made of Iron Sand came flying at Naruto. The boy dodged them expertly. _As if he is used to this kind of attack,_ Neji mused.

A plan formed in his mind and Neji got into position. Naruto was now running in a zig-zag, avoiding huge squared stones made of Iron Sand. The brunette watched, a bit anxious, but he soon realized that there was no reason for him to worry about his captain. The blond boy was too quick, winding his way through the dangerous and sharp projectiles like he had done this a hundred times before.

His pale eyes were back on the human puppet. A quick glance in the direction of Sasori showed him that the puppet master had his eyes on Naruto. Channelling chakra to his feet, Neji started running towards the Third Kazekage. His hand went to his pocket, taking out a small stack of white papers. He dashed forwards as fast as possible.

Sasori must have seen him, since one of the Iron Sand formations started disintegrating in mid-air. With his nearly 360 degree vision, Neji saw the Iron Sand gather itself again, once more forming those annoying bullets. And just a second later they came flying at him. The Hyuuga spun into his _Hakkesho Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven) (8)_, effectively deflecting all of the attacking objects.

In two big leaps Neji crossed the distance between himself and the Kazekage's puppet. His palms shot out as he called, _"Hakke Rokujuuyon Shou (Eight Trigrams Sixty-four Palms)!" (9)_

With the incredible speed of the Hyuuga's precise Taijutsu, the puppet was lifted into the air, cracking noises were heard as the wood slowly gave way. Neji finished his attack and made a back-flip, bringing as much distance as possible between him and the puppet now.

The brunette took in how Naruto tensed and retreated. He had probably seen the white papers sticking to the puppet's body. There was a simple seal on each paper, one which they taught you in the Academy already. Neji allowed himself a victorious smirk and whispered, "_Boom_!"

The exploding tags he had attached to the puppet detonated. A huge ball of fire shot into the night sky, illuminating the darkness. The force easily destroyed the puppet and the flames were eating the last remaining pieces of wood.

Neji felt Naruto land next to him. He clapped him on the back and flashed him a foxy grin, "Neat!"

* * *

><p>Gaara watched as his sand coffin exploded. Deidara's clay bird must have detonated. As the smoke cleared, he heard the panting of his opponent. The blond emerged from a pile of sand, staggering. His cloak was burnt in several places and he was bleeding from a wound on his head.<p>

Gaara didn't let Deidara much time, as the sand around the Akatsuki member rose again, this time binding him in place.

Deidara glared at the Jinchuuriki, who was still hovering above him in the air. The blond wiggled and growled, trying to free his arms from the sand. He couldn't use the mouth in his hands to build new bombs when his arms were caught in the sand.

Cursing his opponent loudly, Deidara somehow managed to get one of his arms free. The mouth was already chewing, ready to spit out one of his bombs.

In the air, Gaara quickly moved his hands, ordering his sand to wrap itself around Deidara's body. But the former Iwa-nin was already pulling his second arm free of Gaara's sand prison. The redhead swiftly closed his fist. "_Sabaku Sousou (Desert Funeral)!" (10)_

A cry of pain was answer enough for Gaara to know that he had injured his opponent. The blond now fully wiggled free of the sand holding him, and leaped away. He was clutching his right arm, red blood was running through his fingers.

"You little shit, you severed my arm!" Deidara yelled, pain and shock more than obvious in his voice.

Gaara's face remained neutral at the insult.

Deidara's remaining arm moved away from the wound. He opened his palm just as the mouth in it spit out what could only be described as a bird with its wings folded in front of his body.

"I see you want to play, un," Deidara spat, "Then meet my C3 bomb. It's my most powerful large scale bomb." _(11)_

With his sole left arm, he threw the bomb into the air.

"Let's see if your sand can protect you against _this_!"

* * *

><p>In their hiding place behind the small rock formation, Temari and Kankurou were holding their breath, while Kakashi was holding back the siblings at the back of their cloaks, trying to stop them from dashing out and helping Gaara.<p>

The Kazekage had given them strict orders. They were not to interfere until it looked like Gaara was either truly losing or until Gaara gave them a sign. Neither had happened so far, so Kakashi would not let the two hot-heads run into the fight, especially not as Gaara had just cut off one of Deidara's arms.

"Calm down," he growled lowly, while keeping both his mismatched eyes on the battle in front of him.

They were a safe distance away from the action, but his uncovered Sharingan was seeing nicely in the darkness. By now the sun was slowly creeping over the horizon, a small strip of light hanging over the desert.

Kakashi couldn't say for sure how long the battle was already lasting, but he assumed it must be close to over an hour hours already.

The three followed Gaara with their eyes, as the Jinchuuriki spread his arms. At his gesture, the sand under him began to rise. More and more rose, faster and faster.

They didn't hear Deidara call out the command to activate his bomb, but they saw how the bird-like clay figure increased in proportions, growing as tall as a man.

Then it dropped. On Gaara.

* * *

><p>Naruto stood next to Neji, waiting for the smoke of the explosion to clear.<p>

He looked around, searching for his other two team mates. He hadn't been able to pay much attention to them while fighting Sasori, but he hoped that Shikamaru was doing his best of coming up with a plan to finally finish this. He didn't know how long this fight already lasted, but he really wanted to get this over with.

An eerie chuckle caught his attention. The smoke had cleared and revealed the form of Sasori. The man slash puppet had his eyes wide opened, a crazy look on his face.

"You defeated this one quite easily, too, I must admit," his voice broke the silence. "But now I have no more reason to hold back. I will show you, what a real puppet master is, boy!"

His hands moved over his cloak, unbuttoning it. He yanked it off, exposing his puppet body to his opponents. Naruto's eyes widened slightly, seeing the chakra storage device in his chest. This little thing was what kept him alive. They only needed to destroy it. But it was already within their reach.

Naruto also recognized the coiled cable in his stomach Itachi had told them about. They also knew of the scroll holder on Sasori's back, which contained his most feared weapon; his puppet army. Other than that, they didn't know what kind of weapons he was still hiding and waiting to use.

"I haven't used myself for some time, you may feel honoured," Sasori said with the manic expression on his puppet face. He reached behind his back, removing one of the scrolls from the container.

"But I see the time has come to use my most feared technique," he chuckled eerily, his eyes widening even further. "Four against one is a bit unfair, don't you think? Let's see..." he trailed off and unrolled the summoning scroll with one fluid motion. Next, he reached for his chest and opened a compartment where his right lung was supposed to be.

Even Naruto saw the bluish glow of chakra, although he didn't have the Byakugan like Neji. They saw more than a hundred chakra strings emit from Sasori's chest, attaching themselves to the red shadows that had begun emerging from the scroll only seconds before.

Soon the brightening desert sky was filled with exactly one hundred red-clad puppets looming above Naruto and his team mates.

"Let's see how you will do four against one hundred!" Sasori laughed creepily.

Naruto leaned over to Neji. "I'll take this. Go find Shikamaru and Kiba and finally kill this fucking lunatic!"

Neji knew better than to ask Naruto if he was sure that he wanted to face this feared technique alone. Instead he squeezed his shoulder and murmured a, "Have fun!" before he left him alone yet again.

Naruto turned to his opponent – or rather his new one hundred and one opponents. The blond placed his hands on his hips and gave Sasori a cocky smirk. Naruto had no reason to be afraid of his attack. Training with Kankurou had taught him a lot about puppetry. While it was not that easy to defeat a single well-controlled puppet, it became easier, the more puppets were used.

Because Uzumaki Naruto controlled his own army.

"So this is your most feared technique? The Red Puppet Technique?" he called, sounding way too confident and unimpressed for Sasori's liking.

"Are you sure about facing me alone, little boy?" Sasori tried to anger him, but Naruto's smirk only widened.

"Oh, I am _not _alone, Sasori."

He formed a well-known crossed hand-seal and shouted, "_Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multiple Shadow Clone Technique)!"_

Sasori stared at the mass of clones. Exactly one hundred.

Simultaneously, the Shadow Clones reached up to their shoulders, grabbing the hilts of their katanas with their right hands.

"Let's go!" they shouted as one and threw themselves at the red puppets.

The original Naruto stayed behind. He needed to form a new Kage Bunshin each time one of them was killed. But he had a considerable advantage. While Sasori had to control all of the hundred puppets at once, ordering them like crazy to keep up with Naruto's clones, all Naruto had to do was watch and replace the dispelled clones. His Kage Bunshin were able to think for themselves, they were not dependent on his orders or guiding. They were individual fighters, who thought exactly like him. And right now he was thinking of destroying those annoying dolls.

* * *

><p>Sasori tried his best to hide his annoyance. This mere boy was playing with him! He saw it clearly. The grin on his face proved that he was rather enjoying this.<p>

He had never heard of anyone using the Shadow Clone Technique to this extent. A hundred clones! This was getting ridiculous!

He needed to end this. As soon as possible.

* * *

><p>Three pairs of eyes stared at the scene in front of them, absolutely mesmerized by the display.<p>

Their captain was fighting the most feared technique of all puppet masters. Completely alone. And instead of being afraid, the blond was grinning; looking as though he was having a good time.

One by one the puppets were destroyed, their broken wooden limbs covering the sandy ground.

"Erm," Kiba began hesitantly, "Is it only me or are you feeling kinda useless, too?"

Next to him, Shikamaru and Neji dumbly nodded their heads, not taking their eyes off the battle.

An angry voice shook them out of their stupor. "What the hell are you doing just standing there?"

Three heads snapped around to stare at their captain.

"Get the fuck moving and kill him! NOW!"

Naruto shook his head, not admitting that he was slightly amused. Their gaping faces had just been too funny. But they really needed to end this. He couldn't do this forever, even though the number of puppets was steadily decreasing.

Annoyed that everything was taking so long, Naruto crossed his fingers and another fifty clones appeared. They charged the remaining puppets with feral looks on their faces.

Shikamaru tore his eyes off Naruto and quickly spoke to his team mates, explaining his newest strategy.

* * *

><p>Kakashi and the Sand siblings had to shield their eyes and duck behind the rocks they were hiding behind as Deidara's C3 bomb detonated.<p>

The heat was so intense, they felt it on their skins, even from the supposedly safe distance away. Temari gasped as the shockwave of the explosion hit their rock. It cracked ominously and for a second she thought it was going to break under the pressure.

Kakashi was the first to raise his head again. He had not anticipated such a powerful blast. But on the other hand, Itachi had warned them enough about Deidara's special explosive powers.

His ears were still ringing from the sheer volume of the explosion. Nothing moved as far as Kakashi could tell. Even his Sharingan couldn't see through the dense smoke, he'd need a Byakugan to do that.

"Gaara," Temari breathed, fear for her baby brother evident in her voice.

She was about to leap over the rocks to come to Gaara's aid, when Kakashi pulled her back once more.

"Wait!" he said urgently, "Look!"

Temari's eyes scanned the cloud of smoke once more. A swirling in the smoke caught her attention. Focusing on the movement, she gasped when she saw vibrant red hair emerge.

"Gaara!" she whispered softly, not quite believing it yet.

But indeed, her baby brother was slowly getting to his feet. The explosion had knocked him over, buried him in his own sand. Or had that been his intention? When he had ordered the desert sand around him to rise up? Right, Temari recognized one of her brother's jutsus; with which Gaara was able to summon the sand around him and forming an almost impenetrable shield to protect him. It was practically his Ultimate Defence, only with a considerable larger amount of sand and also more chakra. _(12)_

The smoke was gone completely, revealing Deidara. The criminal was standing so far away that his own bomb hadn't affected him. The blond was breathing heavily, clutching his shoulder again, where his right arm was missing.

As his eyes fell on the living Kazekage, his blue eyes widened, clearly shocked, but also furious that his attack hadn't killed the Jinchuuriki. The time to capture the Ichibi-container alive was long over. This had turned into a fight of life and death. And also of pride. Deidara would not lose to someone younger than him.

Deidara's left hand sank into his clay pouch. There was not much left. He had enough clay for either two middle scale or one large scale bomb. Maybe he should have listened to Sasori-sama once in his life and taken another pouch of clay with him. Sasori was probably fuming by now because Deidara was taking so long.

He watched the Jinchuuriki in front of him. The boy was supporting his weight on his knees as he was standing up. With his binocular Deidara zoomed in on the redhead. He saw sand falling away from his face. Apparently his sand had formed a layer of sand on his skin, covering him completely. This must be the Jinchuuriki's famous the _Armour of Sand_. _(13)_

Deidara didn't see signs of injury, but clearly this fight was taking its toll on his opponent as well.

But so it did on him. Deidara was running out of chakra and clay.

Gritting his teeth, the missing-nin made a decision.

* * *

><p>Kakashi didn't like the determined expression that suddenly crossed Deidara's face. Whatever the young man was thinking, it couldn't be good for Gaara.<p>

_Time to interfere,_ the grey-haired jounin thought, closing his Sharingan eye. His hands formed a seal and he began gathering his chakra. It didn't matter any more if Deidara detected them now. This fight would soon be over. And Kakashi would make sure that it was going to be the good kind of _over._

He felt the chakra flowing to his Sharingan, felt the pupil change its size and shape. Very slowly. He just hoped he wouldn't be too late. But he knew that Gaara had no chance of surviving another of those bombs.

And whatever kind of attack Deidara had left up his sleeve, Kakashi had the vague feeling that they were no longer safe behind their rocks either.

* * *

><p>"We can't get close to him as long as he has those propelling blades on his back," Kiba said, scowling at said spinning blades, which Sasori used to keep them away. While most of the criminal's attention was still on his Puppet Army fighting Naruto, he had still been able to defend himself against all attacks from the three boys.<p>

Shikamaru nodded, acknowledging Kiba's words. Whenever they were able to close in on their opponent, Sasori would either use the flame throwers in his palms or the sharp cable to fend them off.

Shikamaru's face grew more irritated. As quick as his mind was with developing new plans, Sasori was just equally as quick to make them all null and useless.

But the Nara genius was not done yet.

He gave two small commands to Kiba and Neji and off they went. Time for the next attack.

The brunette kneeled down on one knee, his hands coming up in front of his chest for his most-used jutsu. His shadow lengthened, gaining speed, racing towards Sasori.

But the former Sand-nin was aware enough of the others to see the coming attack. He pointed his open palm on the ground. A searing hot flame shot out, effectively eliminating all shadows under him.

Sasori changed positions to fully evade Shikamaru's Binding Technique, but that only brought him into range of Neji's attack.

The Hyuuga gathered the chakra in his right palm. "_Hakke Kusho (Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm),"_ _(14) _he said calmly and released the compressed air from his tenketsu points.

The vacuum sphere flew at Sasori. The redhead manoeuvred his propellers, half hovering, half jumping to the left, and Neji's attack missed him by a hair's breadth.

But Kiba was already in position, coming up behind the puppeteer, a kunai in his one hand, ninja wire in the other. He swung the kunai like a lasso, gaining momentum, and threw it at Sasori's propellers. On Sasori's other side, Neji was doing the same.

The wire attached to the kunai wound itself around the spinning blades like a spider web.

There was a moment of anxious silence as the three boys held their breath, waiting for the wire to tear. But it held.

The propellers stopped spinning, constricted by the wire, causing Sasori to fall to the ground, no longer hanging in mid-air. He landed on his feet awkwardly, as Neji and Kiba pulled the wires tight, securing the criminal in place.

Sasori's head made an unnatural turn of 180 degrees, facing backwards. His eyes shone with insanity in the early morning sun.

The sharp cable from his belly struck at the two ninja holding the wires in place. Kiba was about to let go off the wire, trying to evade the pointed end of the cable aiming for his head, when a loud voice shouted,

"_Don't move!"_

Then many things happened at the same time.

Kiba turned his head towards the origin of the voice, seeing his blond captain dashing forward at Sasori. A Rasengan charged in his hand, glowing and swirling.

Shikamaru clasped his hands together, forming a tight hand seal for his _Kagemane no Jutsu,_ desperately channelling the remnants of his chakra to stop the cable whizzing at Kiba's face.

Neji's pale eyes widened in wild worry, as he took in the whole scene with his 360 degree vision.

He saw Naruto pumping more chakra into his legs, pushing himself off the ground in a last effort to reach Sasori while he was still restrained.

Kiba bent backwards, squeezing his eyes shut, and doing his best not to let go of the wire, while preparing for the pain that awaited him if the pointed cable buried itself in his body.

Shikamaru's shadow was racing over the sandy ground with a speed he didn't know he was capable of.

Naruto drew his right hand back, aiming for the chakra device in Sasori's chest. He hardly felt his feet hitting the ground. He thrust his hand forward –

– and into Sasori's chest. He felt the wooden puppet body splinter under his attack, as his Rasengan buried itself in the softer tissue of what was left of the criminal's heart.

Something hot and wet splashed against his arms and Naruto was surprised to see it was blood. He had not thought that there was still blood in this abnormality of an organ. It was just wrong.

Naruto felt the heart shudder under his fingers, giving a last pitiful pulse. And then. Nothing.

Neji saw the chakra fade away, his Byakugan showed him that their opponent was truly dead.

Sasori was dead. They had killed him.

Kiba dared to open one of his eyes, hesitantly checking whether it was safe to move again. A rather surprised female shriek escaped his lips when he saw the tip of the cable hanging only millimetres over his nose, the sharp metal almost touching his skin.

He finally let his grip on the wire slack, which caused him to very ungracefully fall on his butt; still staring wide-eyed at the weapon that had almost split his head in two.

Sweat was running down Shikamaru's forehead, his whole body was shaking from the effort to hold up his jutsu. He saw Kiba sprawled on the ground and deemed it fine to release the technique. His shadow shrank back and the cable fell to the ground, lifeless and harmless.

Naruto stared at his arm buried in Sasori's chest. He had killed the manic Akatsuki member. With a hand through his heart. This was just too eerily similar to a certain scene to feel comfortable.

The blond drew his arm back with a squishy sound. Purple blood dropped from his fingertips onto the golden desert sand. _Purple,_ he thought, fascinated by the colour that was just so wrong, _so even his heart was poisoned._

Neji let out a sigh, finally dropping the wire. Sasori's puppet body fell over with a hollow '_thud_'.

Shikamaru wiped the sweat off his brow. The danger had passed. They really did it.

He turned his head to look at his blond captain. What he saw made him cringe. The boy was intently staring at his hand, which he had lifted in front of his face. He could see the purple blood on his tanned skin. Naruto's blue eyes glistened in the sunlight and it looked as if his pupils had turned into slits... or was that just a trick of the light? Shikamaru hoped so.

"Naruto," he called out, slowly getting up from the ground. The boy didn't react.

"Naruto," he called again, louder this time. He walked over to him, his legs heavy from the long battle.

"Taichou!" the Nara said, gripping the boy's shoulder and turning him around to face him.

There was a moment of confusion, where he thought that Naruto was not clearly recognizing him, but it was gone in an instant, leaving behind tired blue orbs.

"Shika," he blinked, "What's up?"

"Naruto?" the brunette asked carefully, "We killed him. Sasori is dead." He squeezed his shoulder gently, trying to bring him back from wherever he was right now.

The blond blinked again, gazing at him with his big blue eyes, and looking so innocent in that moment, with the sun illuminating his blond hair, that the fact that this boy had just killed one of the most feared S-class criminals in the Elemental Nations with his bare hands, made Shikamaru's chest hurt.

Naruto blinked a last time and finally seemed to join him back in reality. His eyes hardened and the image of the innocent boy was swiftly replaced with a strong, young ANBU captain.

Naruto clapped Shikamaru on the arm in a gesture of saying 'Good work'.

His eyes wandered over to his other two team mates. Kiba lay still sprawled on the ground. Naruto watched Neji walk over to the Inuzuka. The Hyuuga offered the boy a hand and lifted him off the ground. Akamaru yelped next to Kiba, his pink tongue hanging from his mouth.

The two brunettes plus nin-dog strolled over to their captain and the Nara. Kiba had a huge grin on his face, the adrenaline from just barely escaping death still pumping through his veins.

Before anyone knew what was happening, Kiba glomped them, roughly pulling them all into a group hug.

The usually stoic Neji gasped at the sudden contact. Naruto glared at Kiba for ramming his head into Shikamaru's and Shikamaru rolled his eyes at the Inuzuka's antics.

"Man, guys," Kiba yelled excitedly, way too loud for being so close, "That was some _insane_ team work!"

Shikamaru and Neji both rolled their eyes at Kiba for once again stating the obvious.

The exuberant boy barked a laugh and loudly admitted, "I thought I was gonna die there for a sec, though. Thanks man!" and clapped Shikamaru on the back, pulling all his friends even closer.

Neji sputtered as his cheeks touched Naruto's on one side and Kiba's on the other. Shikamaru didn't have enough space to even roll his eyes and Naruto got a good whiff of very male sweat.

"Yuk," he yelled playfully, shoving against the prison of arms, "You guys stink!"

Akamaru barked in agreement and Kiba erupted into laughter. Even Neji chuckled softly, pushing his sweaty hair out of his face. "So do you, taichou!" Kiba shot back.

Shikamaru had a wide smirk on his face, but it quickly diminished as he saw the tense look on his captain's face.

Naruto's gaze wandered over the quickly heating desert, lingering where Gaara and the others were supposed to be fighting. He understood that Naruto wouldn't be able to rest peacefully until he saw the others safe and well.

The captain tore his eyes off the horizon. "Let's finish up quickly. I need to see how Gaara is doing."

The team nodded, the mood immediately growing more sombre. But after all they were still on a battle field and as long as not all of them were safely back together, none of them would find peace.

They gathered their ANBU masks up from the ground from wherever they had lost them during the fighting. Their cloaks were dusty, but otherwise amazingly undamaged. Naruto sealed Sasori's puppet body in a scroll. Kankurou had made him promise to bring him the puppet master's body. No matter what condition it was in. After that they collected every single piece of Sasori's Red Puppets, as not to leave any evidence behind. The Akatsuki would soon find out that capturing the Ichibi Jinchuuriki had been unsuccessful, but Naruto didn't want them to find out what exactly had happened.

By the time they were ready to leave, the sun was up in the sky and the soothing coldness of the night had given way for the burning heat of the day.

Letting Neji lead the way with his Byakugan, Naruto followed behind him, his eyes scanning the horizon, impatiently trying to move faster. _Gaara, you better be okay!_

* * *

><p>Gaara was glaring at the man in front of him. What was he doing shedding his clothes in the middle of a fight?<p>

Indeed, Deidara was yanking off both his cloak and shirt, leaving his chest bare.

"You're starting to fucking piss me off," the blond yelled, spit flying from his mouth.

The redhead's eyes opened only slightly in horror at the sight of a sewn up mouth on Deidara's chest, right over the place where one expected the heart. The blond's left hand began biting threw the threads and the mouth opened, a pink tongue greedily lapping for air.

Deidara's hand reached in his pouch, removing the last lump of white clay from it. "How can you remain so calm, even at the sight of my explosive art!"

Seeing that it was truly Deidara's last explosive clay, Gaara knew whatever attack he was planning, it would be grander than anything so far.

The redhead spread his arms, his limbs shaking from exhaustion and chakra overuse. His last barrier had hardly been able to withstand the power of Deidara's bomb. He was uncertain whether he would manage to shield himself against the next one.

He observed his opponent closely, slowly channelling his chakra to his hands. He got down on one knee, pressing his palms onto the sand. This attack would cost him his last chakra. And it would take a while to take effect. Hopefully it wouldn't be too late.

Across the desert, Deidara was feeding the clay lump to the unnatural mouth in his chest. The pink tongue flicked out, greedily tasting the clay, eating it all up.

Thanks to the sunlight, Gaara saw Deidara's transformation clearly. It started with his veins; beginning to stand out; black against the light skin.

"You should be expressing admiration over my artistic ability," he yelled, "It pisses me the fuck off!"

He was panting, taking needy breaths, while trying to express his anger at not being taken seriously about his art.

The black lines spread over his entire body. "This will be my ultimate piece of art, Jinchuuriki!"

His skin turned ashen.

Whatever was happening, Gaara knew his jutsu wouldn't be ready in time. In a last desperate attempt to protect himself as best as possible, he began forming yet another shield, layering sand over sand. It obscured his sight on his opponent, but Gaara was most certain that he would know the second Deidara's jutsu went off.

Sand rose over him, blocking the morning sun and leaving him in shadows. He hoped this was going to be enough.

* * *

><p>"We really need to do something now, Kakashi-san!" Temari urged on the grey-haired jounin.<p>

Said man was sitting behind one of the rocks, both his eyes closed and his hands still in the same seal. Kankurou felt an immense increase in the man's chakra, but whatever he was doing, the Sand-nin hoped it would safe his little brother. And preferably them, too, as the sight before him was enough to almost send him running away in panic.

"I'll explode!" Kankurou heard Deidara shout, definitely sounding more insane than ever.

"I shall die and become art itself! This shall be like no explosion before it! My C0, my Ultimate Art!" _(15)_

Kankurou gulped. His baby brother was no longer safe, that he was sure of. But Kakashi only said not to worry.

"Then," the crazy S-class criminal kept on shouting, "my art will receive the admiration it's always deserved!"

Kankurou squinted his eyes. Was it only his imagination or was Deidara turning to be transparent? No, he was right. The man was becoming transparent! See-through! What kind of jutsu did that?

At Deidara's next words, the Sand siblings' heart sank.

"The radius of this explosion is ten kilometres! There's no escape from this!" A maniacal laughter followed his declaration.

Temari had enough. She could no longer wait. Breaking free of her brother's clutch, she leapt over the rocks, starting to run to Gaara on unsteady feet.

Something slammed into her from behind, effectively forcing the air from her lungs as she was buried underneath someone.

Kakashi held her down with one hand, the other on his closed Sharingan; a knee between her shoulder blades.

"I said. Not. To interfere," he growled out, emphasizing his words by pushing the young woman's head into the ground.

Kankurou gaped, but got to his feet and joined Kakashi and Temari. But he knew better than to recklessly charge onto the scene now. Temari was colourfully cursing Kakashi, who seemed to have no intention of removing himself from his place on her back.

Their attention was caught again, when Deidara's body... disappeared, leaving behind only the outlines of his chakra-filled veins. His last words echoed through the silent desert.

"_Art is a blast!"_

The veins were sucked into a black sphere, which had taken the place of the mouth linked to Deidara's heart.

The tension in the air was almost palpable, as slowly, cracks lined the black sphere, bright blue chakra shining through. The cracks widened, rays of chakra broke out and still –

– Kakashi was doing nothing.

The chakra completely broke out of the sphere. The ball of compressed energy grew in size, until a column of pure explosive energy shot into the sky.

Temari wiggled violently, trying to break free, only for her head to be shoved into the ground again.

Kankurou's mouth opened, desperately yelling the name of his little brother.

He saw the explosion race towards them, an unstoppable force, eliminating everything in its wake. Mere seconds and it would reach Gaara's wall of sand.

Kankurou closed his eyes, not wanting to watch his baby brother's shield give in.

He held his breath. Mere seconds until he would die.

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. Another second. Went by.

Nothing.

Carefully, Kankurou opened his eyes.

The air across the desert was swirling, running together in a blur; the light blue of the sky mixed with the white-yellow of the sun. Gradually, the air turned back to normal, gone was the illusion.

Kankurou blinked. Where had the explosion gone?

He heard a dull '_thud_' and saw Kakashi keel over from the corner of his eyes. Now free of the tall man's weight, Temari sat up, her eyes wide with confusion. She shared a look with her brother, who looked just as dumbfounded.

A loud bark made their heads snap around. Kiba's large nin-dog ran towards them, Team Naruto in tow.

Hesitant grins spread over the Sand siblings' faces. Their arrival meant that Sasori had been defeated.

Naruto pushed his mask onto his head as he came to stand in front of Temari. He offered the older girl a hand and pulled her up.

"We saw a huge explosion, but then it suddenly vanished," Naruto explained, raising his eyebrows questioningly.

Temari shrugged and pointed at the unconscious Kakashi. "He did something with his Sharingan. I didn't exactly see what he did, but it somehow saved us all."

That made Naruto's head snap up from resting on his sensei. "Where's Gaara?" he asked, his voice laced with concern.

Temari clasped a hand over her mouth, shocked about the fact that she had actually forgotten to check on the very brother she had been so worried about only minutes before. Before she could say anything, Naruto was already rushing over to where she saw Gaara's sand shield.

_Please let him be okay,_ Naruto pleaded silently, falling to his knees next to a larger pile of sand. He could feel Gaara's chakra and that was at least an indication for that he was alive.

"Gaara," he called and watched as the sand shield disintegrated.

Soon, dusty red hair emerged from the pile, sand drizzling down his head. Eager to get him free, Naruto grabbed his arm and pulled him out of ground. His fellow Jinchuuriki slumped down, leaning heavily onto Naruto's shoulder.

"Gaara," Naruto whispered, his mouth right next to his ear, "you did it. Deidara's gone!"

Gaara's head moved and Naruto took it as a confirming nod. "Naruto..." His voice was barely audible, but thanks to Naruto's enhanced hearing, he heard his words clearly. "You're here..."

"Yes," the blond breathed in awe, only now fully comprehending the situation; the knowledge of having defeated their opponents and successfully protected Sunagakure sinking in.

"I'm here, Gaara," Naruto smiled into his dirty hair, not bothering about the sand on his lips. He pulled his best friend into a fierce hug against his chest, adrenaline pumping through his veins from the sheer knowledge of being alive. "We really did it."

* * *

><p><strong><span>Insanely long Jutsu list:<span>**

(1) _Sabaku Fuyuu: Desert Sand Floating. _Ninjutsu, utilized by Gaara. Using his ability to levitate sand, Gaara will bring together sand into cloud shaped clumps. These clumps are dense enough for Gaara or another ninja to rest on.

(2) _Gatsuuga: Fang Passing Fang. _The user and his partner spin at a ferocious speed and deliver many powerful beast-like attacks when contact is made with the target. The force of this attack is strong enough to drill through stone. This attack can be done alone.

(3) _Kagemane no Jutsu: Shadow Imitation Technique/Shadow Binding Technique. _The Shadow Imitation Technique allows the user to extend their shadow on any surface (even water and as far as they want as long as there is a sufficient area. Once it comes into contact with a target's shadow, the two merge and the target is forced to imitate the user's movements.

(4) _Rendan: Suna Shigure: Successive Shots: Sand Drizzle. _Gaara creates dozens of sand bullets that he uses to shower the enemy with.

(5) _C1: _Deidara's most basic and versatile form of explosive clay, that is created from a single palm mouth. These are small animated dolls that often resemble animals. Depending upon which variation is created, they will retain the abilities of the creatures they where modelled after, i.e. those resembling birds can still fly. This feature combined with their little independent explosive power, makes them excellent for covert operations. He can produce and release a significant number of them at high speeds.

(6) _Sabaku Rou: Desert Prison. _Ninjutsu; a large scale version of Sabaku Kyuu (Desert Coffin). With this technique, Gaara will cause a large sphere of sand to encircle and trap his target.

(7) _Futon: Daitoppa: Wind Release: Great Breakthrough._This is a relatively simple technique that creates a sudden gust of wind, but its scale varies greatly depending on the user. If used by a superior shinobi, it has enough destructive power to knock down a large tree. The wind from the squall can blow away all things in the user's line of sight.

(8) _Hakkesho Kaiten: Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven._After releasing chakra from every tenketsu in their body, the user then spins rapidly to parry the attack, both creating a rotating shield of chakra around themselves and tossing away any nearby attackers; only members of the Hyuuga clan can use it.

(9) _Hakke Rokujūyon Shō: Eight Trigrams Sixty-four Palms__. _With the Byakugan's near 360° field of vision, the user envisions an Eight Trigrams circle. Then the enemy within this circle is hit with a series of violent blows. By striking sixty-four of the tenketsu throughout the opponent's Chakra Pathway System, their chakra flow is stopped, making them unable to even stand.

(10) _Sabaku Sousou: Desert Funeral._Gaara will cause sand to rise from the ground and encase his target using his Sabaku Kyuu technique, making them captured in place. Gaara will then do this jutsu to constrict and crush his target killing them.

(11) _C3:_Deidara's most powerful large scale bomb, that once activated becomes an enormous statue that Deidara drops on his target from above. It's the one Deidara dropped on Sunagakure.

(12) _Kusa Boheki: Air Sand Protective Wall._This air defence technique creates a giant shield of sand that is suspended in mid-air by raising a great amount of sand from the ground. By gathering the best possible mineral-rich sand, the hardness of the shield is considered to be very high. Furthermore, the sand has its defensive strength raised by flowing chakra through it. It was strong enough to protect Sunagakure from Deidara's C3.

(13) _Suna no Yoroi: Armour of Sand._Using this technique, Gaara can cover himself in a compacted layer of sand, providing an additional defence should his Shield of Sand fail; combined together, these two are known as Gaara's "Absolute Defence". Though quite effective, maintaining the armour requires a large amount of chakra and stamina.

(14) _Hakke Kusho: Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm._The user precisely pinpoints the enemy's vital points with the Byakugan and releases a high-speed palm thrust. A "vacuum shell" compressed using the Gentle Fist is formed to attack the opponent's vitals from a distance, blowing them off their feet with tremendous force before they even notice they were hit.

(15) _C0: _The highest form of Deidara's explosive clay; his "Ultimate Art"; C0 is a suicide technique used as a last resort. He reveals a mouth on his chest, which is stitched up. After undoing the stitches, Deidara feeds it a large ball of clay. The mouth on his chest has a direct connection to his heart so a large amount of chakra is built up. It then kneads chakra directly from the meridians of the heart and keeps doing it without interruption until the moment of the explosion. His explosive chakra then manifests itself in his veins, flowing through his body. These "veins" then condense into a sphere that slowly cracks open and detonates, producing a unique explosion that covers a ten kilometre radius.

_**I'm taking all the information on the techniques from either Narutopedia or Leafninjadotcom (Thanks to **_**Aryk von Straln ****_for pointing this site out to me; but you're right, it takes quite long to find what you're actually looking for). It was such a pain to look them all up... But I hope it was worth it!_**

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading everyone and I'm so curious to see how you liked it! Please be honest with me, you know that I do have problems with writing fight scenes, but I hope it turned out okay...<strong>

**I tried to keep this fight as realistic as possible. I don't want to make Naruto and the team too strong. But on the other hand, it was a four on one fight, so they really had an advantage over Sasori. His end might not have been as epic as in the Anime/Manga, but this story is not supposed to be a rewrite of what we already know. And Deidara really died, using his suicide bomb, so he won't appear again.**

**Also keep in mind that I messed with the time line a bit. In this story, Orochimaru has already been killed when Naruto faces Sasori and Deidara. So of course, Sasori can't spill any information on Orochimaru or Sasuke. And besides, Naruto is not looking for news on Sasuke. This mission solely serves the purpose to help protect his friend Gaara and hence also Sunagakure. And as Naruto made it his new aim to destroy the Akatsuki, this is the first step.**

**There were actually 5 more pages to this chapter, mainly Sasori's and Deidara's POV on their respective battles, but I deleted it, since I thought it was interrupting the little suspense I was able to create... And also their POV was not that essential to the fighting.**

**Everything that seems to be unclear right now, will be solved in the next chapter.**

**And you guys also convinced me to keep writing this version of the story, I'm glad to know that you really want to read on :)**

**Enough talking now. But one last thing, I don't know when the next chapter will be up. I have exams one day before Christmas... yay... And even if it is still some weeks, I need to study a loooot – and I mean a lot. I hope you won't have to wait until after Christmas, I'll do my best to get the next chapter out as soon as possible!**

**Until the next time!**

**xXHaneliXx**


	13. Chapter 13

**The author says:** I'm so glad that you liked the fight scenes in the last chapter!

Please enjoy chapter 13!

Hier kommt etwas auf deutsch! Da ich gesehen habe, dass immer mehr Deutsche meine story lesen, wollte ich euch auch mal direkt ansprechen! Fühlt euch hiermit sehr herzlich dazu eingeladen, auch auf deutsch zu reviewen! ;) Vielen Dank an alle deutschen Leser! Ich hoffe, dass euch dieses Kapitel gefällt!

**I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

><p><strong>'He had no Idea'<strong>

**Chapter 13**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Things aren't the way they were before<br>You wouldn't even recognize me any more  
>Not that you knew me back then<br>but it all comes back to me  
>(In the end) <strong>_

_**You kept everything inside and even though I tried/ it all fell apart  
>What it meant to me will eventually/ be a memory/ of a time when**_

_**I tried so hard  
>and got so far<br>But in the end  
>it doesn't even matter<strong>_

_**I had to fall  
>to lose it all <strong>_

**- 'In The End' by Linkin Park**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sunagakure no Sato, the Kazekage's private training grounds:<strong>_

Four days after the successful battle against Sasori and Deidara, Naruto was already training again. He had hardly been injured at all. Neither had been his team mates. The only one out of order was Kakashi. His old sensei had been conscious for some hours yesterday and explained to him and the others what had happened.

Apparently, Kakashi had managed to gain the Mangekyou Sharingan, a more powerful version of the normal Sharingan. Naruto vaguely remembered that Itachi had one, as well. Besides that, he didn't know a lot about the Doujutsu of the Uchiha clan.

The technique Kakashi had used was called _Kamui (1); _a jutsu with which he was able to send objects to another dimension. That was how he had stopped Deidara's suicide bomb; practically sucked it out of the air.

However, since Kakashi was not an Uchiha, using the Mangekyou was taking a huge toll on his body. The amount of chakra he needed to perform the jutsu, had left him completely drained. For now he was resting in the private hospital room in the Kazekage Tower.

As far as the villagers were concerned, the small delegation from Konoha was in Suna for a surprise visit. Kakashi had over-exhausted himself during training. Or that was what they said when anyone asked about his condition.

Kankurou was happily working on Sasori's puppet body. The young puppeteer was determined to restore it and use it in future battles. It was an excellent puppet, one of the likes Kankurou had not yet been able to build in his young years.

Gaara had only suffered from a severe case of chakra exhaustion, but he was up the next day already. The advantages of being a Jinchuuriki. His wounds were healing nicely and thanks to Naruto's former visits to Suna, no-one was wondering why the Kazekage was injured. Training with Naruto always left behind some more or less obvious clues.

Kiba and Akamaru were discovering the unknown territory. The Inuzuka kept complaining about the sand and the heat, but he seemed to like the foreign food quite enough.

Shikamaru was spending a lot of time with Temari. In fact, there was hardly a time when Naruto didn't see the two together. When Kiba had teased the Nara about it, he had only shrugged and muttered a "Troublesome," but Naruto had seen the lightest blush on his cheeks and shared a knowing look with Neji.

The Hyuuga was training with Naruto right now. Somehow, Naruto's team seemed to be worried about him. The other boys never left him alone, one of them was always with him. The blond young man hadn't allowed himself much rest after the fight. The little scratches he had received, had been healed by Kyuubi before they arrived back in Suna.

He felt Neji's eyes on him, as he stood in the middle of the training ground, his head turned away from the glaring sun. Naruto wore his normal clothes, since they were supposedly on vacation. His already tanned skin was darkening under the desert sun. Much to Neji's annoyance. The light-skinned Hyuuga needed to cover his skin completely lest he got a nice sunburn.

Naruto ran a hand over his sweaty forehead. Thanks to Kyuubi he could endure the heat way better than the other Leaf-nin, but he still felt hot and dusty. His blond hair was dirty and at the end of the day, a considerable amount of sand fell from hit when he shook his head like Akamaru.

The boy stretched his arms over his head, enjoying the feeling of his plopping joints. He yawned lazily and finally looked at Neji, who was persistently staring at him.

"What is it, Neji?" he asked, his voice tired and slightly irritated.

The brunette walked closer and stopped in front of his captain. "What's wrong with you, Naruto-san?" he asked, concerned.

Naruto had learned to ignore the fact that Neji still addressed him so formally, but every time he tried to correct him, the other said it'd be disrespectful to speak to his captain like that. So Naruto just let him have his way.

The blond deliberately looked away from him, feigning confusion. But he should know by now that you could not hide your feelings from the Hyuuga prodigy. _Damn the Hyyugas and their all-knowing eyes._

"You have been unusually absent-minded since you killed Sasori," Neji spoke, ignoring the fact that his captain was ignoring him. "I want you to know that if you need someone to talk to, I'm right here."

Naruto glanced at him, surprised by the offer. Speaking about his problems to Neji had not been the first thing on his mind, but on the other hand, talking to anyone about any of his feelings was never really on his mind.

"Um, thanks, Neji," the blond said unintelligently, but Neji still caught the grateful undertone.

Without waiting for Naruto to say anything else, the brunette went on. "I was wondering what might have you so worried, Naruto-san. So I came up with some theories."

Naruto blinked._ Man, he's unusually talkative today._

Again, Neji didn't wait for Naruto's reply, but kept talking. "The first thing I thought you might have found disturbing –"

"Neji, just spit it out," Naruto said, clearly irritated by the Hyuuga's refined and way too complicated way of talking.

Neji pursed his lips, but nodded; outwardly unfazed by his captain's lack of patience. But then he asked the question straight away. "Was it the first time you killed someone?"

Naruto blinked again, actually a bit moved that the Hyuuga cared so much to ask him whether he had any qualms or regrets about killing.

The Jinchuuriki gave Neji a sad smile. "No, Neji, it was not the first time."

In fact, he had killed enemies several times already; while travelling with Jiraiya, but also during the half year he had been on his own. Jiraiya had told him something that he had taken to heart. _If you need to kill someone, gaki, wait for the right moment. But never hesitate. If your heart hesitates only a second, it can get you killed in turn. Wait when it's necessary, but never hesitate. It's either you or them._

Naruto had long thought about his sensei's words and for a long time, he had thought them heartless. But he had come to understand that killing was part of the job. He'd always wanted to be a ninja and ninjas were confronted with death more times than they liked it. While Naruto didn't enjoy killing, he told himself that it was necessary.

If he was honest with himself, he didn't regret killing Sasori. No, not at all. By killing him, Naruto had eliminated a threat to himself, his fellow Jinchuuriki and also the rest of the world. Sasori was a criminal, a lunatic, who turned people into human puppets. That was not art but disgusting.

No, he didn't regret killing him. It was just like Jiraiya had taught him. _It's either you or them._

Realizing he had spaced out, Naruto focused and saw Neji's pale eyes still on him.

"Thanks, Neji, but that's not it," Naruto assured him.

Neji gave a curt nod, he believed him.

"What is it then? Are you not satisfied with our performance during the fight?"

Naurto's head snapped up, gaping. "Wh-What?" he asked, perplexed and a little shocked.

How could Neji say something like that? Hadn't Naruto told his team how great they did?

"Neji," he began, his voice firm and eyes hard, to make Neji see how serious he was, "I could never have finished Sasori on my own. You guys were awesome and if not for you, I'm pretty sure the outcome of this fight would have been different."

Neji nodded again and Naruto thought for a moment that the Hyuuga actually knew what was bothering him, but wanted to give him the opportunity to address it on his own.

A sudden wave of panic swelled up inside of Naruto and he probably spoke too quickly, because the brunette was frowning suspiciously.

"Look, Neji... I appreciate your concern, but please... There's no need to worry about me, I'm fine, really."

The way the pale eyes bore into his made Naruto turn away from his team mate, feeling uncomfortable under the scrutinizing gaze and knowing eyes.

The blond felt a hand brush his arm gently, comfortingly. "Please don't lie to me, Naruto-san. I won't press the matter, since I see that it makes you feel uncomfortable. But please know that you're not alone."

The touch was gone from his arm and as Naruto spun around, a weak protest on his lips, Neji had already left in a whirl of leaves.

Naruto let his head hung and ungracefully slumped down, lying flatly on the hot sand of Gaara's private training grounds.

There were no clouds in the blue sky. He had to squint his eyes against the blinding sun. He folded his hands under his head and looked up at a sky that looked so different from the one he knew from Konoha.

A heartfelt sigh forced itself over his lips.

_You're not alone._

Again those words. Everyone kept telling him that.

Maybe it was time he started believing it once and for all?

Naruto closed his eyes against the sun, a sceptical frown on his face. It was so stupid of him to shut everyone out after the fight. His team had shown a team work that he had not thought they were capable of yet. The team was only three weeks young after all, and even after all the intense training and the two smaller missions the had taken, they lacked experience. But against Sasori, everyone had contributed their skills. Even if Naruto had been the one to land the final blow, the other guys had made it possible in the first place.

No, his team was not worrying him. Something else was and he had tried his best to physically occupy his body for that his mind had no time to think.

That plan had failed.

He had never been the person to talk to other people about his problems. He snorted at the thought. There had never been a person to share his problems with in the first place. The very few people that had cared about him during his childhood, he never wanted to trouble them. He had mouthed his anger or sadness to Sasuke sometimes, but the boy had never really shown any interest. _And now I know why. He just never cared._

The frown on his tanned face deepened and he forced himself to stop with the cynical thoughts.

_Right,_ he mentally snapped at himself, _back to more cheerful thoughts. _To what was really bothering him.

_Kyuubi._

It had taken all of his stubborn will to shut the demon out during the fight. He had felt him lurking in the back of his mind the whole time, waiting for the tiniest slip on Naruto's part. The feeling of his intense bloodlust had made him sick.

Too clearly he remembered how he had almost given in to his alluring promises of killing all his enemies for him, if he only let him out; ripped off the seal on his cage in his mind.

He remembered how he had stared at Sasori's poisoned blood on his hand, running down his fingers, with a fascination that was not his own.

He had been a step away from licking it off his fingers.

Suddenly feeling very nauseated, Naruto shuddered and set up, clutching his stomach.

What would have happened, if Shikamaru had not called out to him? Naruto didn't want to know.

Maybe he was not alone, like Neji and everyone else kept telling him. But he would be again, as soon as they found out.

Found out that he heard the Kyuubi's dark laughter in the back of his mind.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Somewhere in a forest in Lightning Country:<strong>_

The only female member of Team Taka glanced at the raven, who had freed her from Orochimaru's lair. Sasuke was resting against the trunk of a tree, his eyes closed and his shoulders slightly slumped. The plan had been to only stop for lunch for an hour or so, but soon after they had finished eating, they heard his even breathing and knew their boss had fallen asleep.

The three others had decided not to wake the pale young man. In the four months since Sasuke had assembled the team, they had watched his condition slowly but steadily grow worse.

They were not sure when it had actually started, but the first signs of his inner distress had shown when they had followed a lead on Itachi for over three weeks. When they just thought they had actually caught up to him, they found out that they had missed the older Uchiha by mere minutes. They hadn't been able to track him again after that. And Sasuke had lost it.

He had obliterated half the forest of Earth Country in his blind frenzy; raging until he had no chakra left. He had keeled over right there, in the midst of his destruction, and Juugo had had to carry him, for they had to leave the country lest they wanted to be found by the Kumo shinobi.

That had been two months ago. Sasuke had not said a word about the incident and the others knew better than to mention the momentary loss of his famous control.

Silently agreeing to keep an eye on their boss from then on, the three began watching him closely. Karin was the first to recognize the signs of Sasuke's inner torment. She felt it in his chakra, the changing of his moods.

Most of the times, Sasuke's chakra was dark and broody. But then it would turn to utterly depressed at times, until Karin could hardly stand his presence. The anger was always boiling in Sasuke. Karin was not too surprised that the pale raven needed to let go of the pressure at certain moments.

But there was something else, buried deep inside the young Uchiha. But so far Karin was unable to put her finger on the feeling that Sasuke tried to ignore.

And now, three pairs of eyes were regarding the raven quietly, as the permanent scowl on his face eased out in sleep.

Suigetsu raised his eyebrows in surprise. They often woke up in the middle of the night, aroused by Sasuke's nightmares. To see him resting in daylight was something new for them and to actually see him going through his troublesome dreams morbidly fascinated them.

Their otherwise cool and impassive boss never talked much, but they had come to terms with his cold attitude towards them. They knew he had not gathered them to form a happy family, but out of necessity; their only goal was to hunt Itachi and to finally kill him. That _Sasuke_ killed Itachi, that was.

Karin's eyes widened in awe as Sasuke's features smoothed out and his chakra lit up. Wait – _what?_

The redhead closed her eyes and concentrated on the raven's chakra. There was an entirely new feeling to it; like a nuance of a colour she had never seen before. The underlying anger was not gone completely, but it felt as if something had pushed it away, gently.

Then it changed. All of a sudden, the cloud of darkness seemed to grow. It violently exploded and overshadowed the tiny beacon of light in Sasuke's chakra.

And Karin felt it, the feeling she hadn't been able to name before. It was... despair. Mixed with gut-wrenching fear that Karin couldn't explain. Whatever Sasuke was dreaming about, was affecting him greatly; more than anything during the day ever did. It was so easy for Karin to read his chakra, however, she could never tell his emotions from looking at his blank face.

Her eyes flew open as Juugo nudged her hard on the arm. Her red eyes immediately fell on the raven, whose face once more was a grimace of pure anguish. Only in his sleep was it that he couldn't fight against his emotions to show outwardly.

The boy woke with a start, his onyx eyes wide in panic. "_Naruto–"_

The name died on his lips as onyx eyes focused and recognized the three people staring at him. He realized he was breathing too fast and forced his body to relax. His back slumped back against the tree. He pulled his legs up a bit and let his arms rest loosely on his knees. He felt too hot and his heart was still beating irregularly in his chest.

Suigetsu and Juugo shared a look, not exactly sure how to handle the situation. Karin was still staring at the boy, still trying to comprehend the disturbance in his chakra. She was wondering. Before she could stop herself, the question was out of her mouth.

"Who is Naruto?" the redhead blurted out.

Sasuke's head snapped up, onyx eyes staring at her, but not really seeing her.

Karin pushed her glasses back up her nose and silently prayed she wouldn't fall victim to one of Sasuke's fits. But to everyone's surprise, the raven spoke.

"He..." he swallowed and the others shared a confused look. Sasuke actually sharing some of his past?

His eyes fell closed as the image of a blond-haired, blue-eyed, little boy appeared on his mind.

"He was someone... I left behind," Sasuke said in a hollow voice. His tone was final and everyone knew that the conversation was over. And better not to be mentioned again.

* * *

><p>It was three days later that Team Taka arrived in a small city where they planned to stock up on food and fresh clothes. It was also one of the rare nights they spent in an actual bed.<p>

Sasuke and Suigetsu were walking through the lively streets, keeping their ears and eyes open for the smallest hint on Sasuke's brother. Suigetsu was grumbling under his breath, annoyed at his boss, who never allowed him to take his huge sword with him. But they were civilians here and even Sasuke had left his visible weapons in the hotel.

Suigetsu was eyeing Sasuke from the corner of his eyes. The white-haired water-boy had been the first to travel with Sasuke and while Suigetsu would never admit it out loud, he was kind of grateful to Sasuke that he had freed him from Orochimaru's labs. The raven could have easily left him there, leaving him at Kabuto's mercy. But the Uchiha had actually taken him with him, freeing him from his prison and ending his miserable existence as one of Orochimaru's test objects.

So Suigetsu had grown attached to Sasuke. Another fact the boy would never admit aloud. But he couldn't help to feel a tiny bit worried about Sasuke. He didn't need Karin's sensory abilities to see that something was seriously wrong with the raven. He looked paler than usual – unhealthy even.

And what had that nightmare three days ago been about? Engrossed in his own thoughts, Suigetsu almost ran into his boss's back, as Sasuke suddenly stopped walking.

Suigetsu looked at Sasuke, who in turn was staring at the sign of a restaurant. Suigetsu's lilac eyes wandered up and widened.

Why was the usually stoic Uchiha staring at a ramen restaurant of all things as if he'd seen a ghost?

Sasuke's eyes were unfocused, a funny look on his face. Suigetsu really couldn't say what it was. The smell of the salty ramen noodles was thick in the air. Suigetsu scrunched his nose. He was not a big fan of ramen.

But apparently Sasuke was.

The raven had stopped staring and was now walking into the small stand, sitting on a stool in front of the counter. Unsure of what was going on, Suigetsu shrugged and followed him, taking the stool next to Sasuke.

"Are you hungry, boss?" the white-haired shinobi asked, glancing at Sasuke.

But the raven didn't answer, since the chef came.

"Three servings of large miso ramen, please," Sasuke gave his order; his voice soft and sounding as if he was in some kind of trance.

Suigetsu gaped openly. There was the answer to his earlier question; Sasuke was obviously very hungry. But why was he acting so strange? And Suigetsu had never figured Sasuke to be the ramen-loving type of person.

Suigetsu hastily ordered as the chef cleared his throat, waiting.

The food came quickly and they ate in silence. Sasuke didn't say a word.

The raven was deep in thoughts, caught up in memories of a blond-haired boy, who loved to eat ramen. How many times had they had lunch at Ichiraku's? He had no idea. How many times had he refused to taste Naruto's favourite food? Just as many, if not more.

Sasuke savoured the salty taste. And suddenly he wasn't in Kaminari no Kuni any more, but back in Konoha. He saw a twelve-year old Naruto sitting next to him, happily chattering away about whatnot, while simultaneously trying to keep the noodles in his mouth. The boy's loud way of talking had often resulted in Sasuke getting spit at. He would glare at him and reprimand him for talking while chewing.

"Dobe," he would have said and sometimes even rolled his eyes at him in playful exasperation.

"What? Sasuke? I didn't get you," Suigetsu spoke up, leaning closer to Sasuke.

Sasuke stared at his chop-sticks, halfway to his mouth. A smirk appeared on his lips. How often did he have to pay for him, because his ridiculous frog – no, it was a toad, he remembered, he had always corrected him for calling it a frog – of a wallet had been empty again? He had no idea.

Bemused, Sasuke snorted and brought the chop-sticks to his mouth and dug in.

Why had he so vehemently refused to try this during their childhood? Ramen was really not that bad. Actually, he liked the taste. Besides, it reminded him of Naruto.

A content smirk spread over Sasuke's chewing lips as the depressive air hanging over him lifted. With every bite he swallowed, the ever-present dull ache in his chest lessened. His stomach filled with ramen. Absent-minded as he was, he didn't even realize that he was already on the third bowl. The smirk on his face grew as he imagined Naruto ordering yet another three bowls. He really loved ramen.

Was Naruto in Konoha now? Enjoying a bowl of ramen? He had no idea.

And was he – he choked. The bite got stuck in his throat.

He coughed violently.

What the _hell_ was he _doing_? Wondering about what _Naruto_ was doing? He was supposed to wonder where his _brother_ was! Not Naruto! He had left him behind. Just like he had told his team three days ago.

So why was the boy constantly on his mind? He was in his dreams during the night, on his mind during the day...

Irritated with himself, Sasuke dug into his pocket and put money on the counter, violently pushing the bowl away from him, broth sloshing over. He got up from the stool and – _fled_. It was nothing else. He fled his own memories, trying to escape the image of the blue-eyed boy that was haunting him.

"Oi, Sasuke, wait up!" Suigetsu called after him, thoroughly bewildered at the other's behaviour. What the hell was going on?

Sasuke didn't wait for the boy. He wanted to get away from the smell of ramen as quickly as possible. He still tasted it on his tongue, tasted Naruto on his tongue.

What the hell was wrong with him?

He had no idea.

* * *

><p><em>It was his first day in the Ninja Academy. Uchiha Sasuke was excited. His beloved aniki was a strong shinobi and little Sasuke wanted to be just like him. So going to the academy was the first step. Sasuke wanted Itachi to be proud of him. And his father, too.<em>

_Absorbed in his thoughts about his future life as a shinobi of the Leaf, Sasuke didn't see the small blond boy approaching him._

_He sat down in the seat next to him and introduced himself loudly as, "Uzumaki Naruto!"_

_A wide foxy grin was splitting the blond's face. He was bouncing in his seat from excitement. His spiky hair was messily hanging onto his forehead; his baby blue eyes sparkled from mischief._

_His tanned skin was practically glowing and a healthy blush was on his scarred cheeks. Sasuke briefly wondered about the whisker-like birthmarks, but was more surprised about the glaring orange of the other's jumpsuit._

_Sasuke stared at the bubbly blond in bewilderment. Never before had he met someone as cheerful as this boy. The Uchiha clan was known to be rather cold and emotionless. Sasuke thought of his stoic father and his calm brother. He knew how to act around them._

_But he had absolutely no idea how to respond to this grinning boy._

_So he did the only thing he knew._

_He didn't smile back at him. He didn't take the offered hand. He broke eye contact and turned away from him, facing the front of the class._

_Sasuke frowned. Inwardly he was debating with himself; wondering if this was the correct way to act. _Maybe I should've just told him my name?

_The raven quickly turned back towards the blond, his mouth already opened to give him his name, when he saw his reaction._

_The blond boy, who had introduced himself as Uzumaki Naruto, was slowly letting the offered hand fall back to his side. His grin faltered. The light in his blue eyes dimmed, his excited bouncing stopped._

_Sasuke took it all in and as Naruto was about to turn his back on him, he murmured, "Uchiha Sasuke."_

_His blond head spun back around to face the raven again and his baby blue eyes met his onyx ones. His foxy grin was back, wider than ever. Sasuke was sure he could count all of his white teeth, if he had wanted to._

_The young Uchiha had no idea why he felt so compelled to answer the other. He had no idea why he felt the urge to smile at the bubbly blond. _His grin must be contagious_, Sasuke reasoned. The boy felt a tug at the corner of his mouth. Smiling like this felt unfamiliar to him. _Am I doing this right?

_The sound of sudden laughter made Sasuke blush. The blond boy dared laughing at him! No one laughed at an Uchiha! At least that's what his father always said._

_The laughter turned into soft chuckles. "Sasuke, smiling is not so hard!" the blond said warmly, "but you have to lift both corners of your mouth, not only one!"_

_Sasuke looked at him questioningly. He had no idea that he had just given Naruto the very first of his soon-to-be famous lopsided smirks._

_And it would not be the last time he would give his 'first' of anything to this boy. But he had no idea._

_Sasuke watched the small blond boy in awe._

_The light in the classroom slowly vanished. Everything around the two went black._

_And Sasuke knew the memory was over._

_Sasuke grew; from his six-year-old to his seventeen-year-old self. The boy in front of him stayed the same._

_The grin on his chubby face died. The excited light in his eyes died. Then _he_ died._

_Naruto gasped, clutching a hand over his heart. Sasuke knew what he would see there. His own arm, buried in Naruto's chest. The bright orange of his jumpsuit was sprinkled with crimson. Hot blood ran through his fingers and he felt Naruto's heart stop._

_His eyes closed. Naruto was dead._

"_No, Naruto!" Sasuke yelled, shaking the blond. But he knew it was not enough. He was too late. He had killed him._

_Sasuke was killing Naruto every night in his dreams._

_And after he had killed him... the boy would open his eyes again._

"_I _hate_ you, Sasuke!" Hate you... Hate you... Hate you... _

_Accusing eyes. Pained eyes. And oh, the overwhelming hatred in them..._

Sasuke shot up from his bed.

_Fuck._ He ran a hand through his hair. It stuck to his sweaty forehead.

Why? Why did he have to live through this every fucking night? Was this his punishment for abandoning his best friend?

He felt sick. He shouldn't have eaten the ramen.

Ever since Itachi had shown him Naruto's death in the genjutsu, Sasuke was having nightmares about it. They always started as pleasant memories; memories he had assumed to be long forgotten. Or banned from his mind. Then his pleasant dreams turned into nightmares. Always ending in Naruto's death. At his hands.

Was it pathetic to wish that the nightmares wouldn't stop? Because that would mean that he would also stop reliving the pleasant memories of his time with Naruto? _Yes. Pathetic._

Sasuke fell back on the bed, an arm over his eyes.

_Naruto..._

It was not the first time that Sasuke was wondering how everything would have turned out if he had just listened to his best friend and gone home to Konoha with him. Naruto and the others were probably all Chuunin by now. Maybe some of them even Jounin. Was the dobe a jounin already? Sasuke doubted it. Naruto was skilled, yes, but he was also clumsy and loud and, frankly, not the sharpest kunai in the pouch.

Sasuke snorted. _Konoha..._ Would he ever see the village he had grown up in again? Maybe... maybe he could go back...? _After_ he had killed Itachi, of course.

_Maybe... Naruto..._

Oh, how much Sasuke _hated_ the boy.

For weakening his resolve. Over and over again.

For being on his mind. All the time.

For robbing his sleep. Every night.

For making his chest hurt. So much.

For making him regret. The day_ he had left him behind. The day he had chosen revenge over his best friend._

* * *

><p><em><strong>In Konoha:<strong>_

Two months had passed since the successful mission in Wind Country. And once again, ANBU Team Four – also dubbed as 'Team Naruto' – had returned almost unscathed from their latest mission.

"Hokage-sama, ANBU Team Four reporting back from mission," Naruto stepped forward, his Weasel mask covering his face and the hood hiding his sunny hair.

The three boys behind him gave respectful bows to the leader of their village and stood silently behind their captain. Their uniforms were dirty and bloody. The mission had been messier than the ones before and all four of them wanted to get out of their clothes and wash the blood from their bodies. But the mission report came first.

Naruto delivered all necessary information in a firm voice. The others called it his _captain-voice._ It was remarkable how easily Naruto switched between the young but fierce ANBU captain and the rather innocent teenager.

He finished his oral report and Tsunade ordered him to hand in the written report on the next day. This duty fell to Neji, since Tsunade refused to take anything hand-written from Naruto; much to the boy's chagrin. But his handwriting was so poor that Tsunade had to read it twice or even thrice to decipher the messy letters, and his spelling was full of faults. Naruto had blushed the first time Tsunade had berated him for his writing, but really, no-one could blame him. None of the teachers in the academy had truly taken the time to support the boy or just to correct his mistakes. So he was stuck with the skills of a six-year-old. And Neji was stuck with writing the reports. Not so much to Naruto's chagrin.

"Ne, baa-chan," Naruto drawled, yawning tiredly, throwing all formalities aside. The mission had lasted for five days and they had hardly caught any sleep. "When do we have the next mission?"

Tsunade looked the young shinobi in front of her desk over. They looked like they needed a rest. A small one at least.

"Report back in three days," the Hokage said. Naruto nodded and the four vanished in shunshins, going their separate ways.

Naruto reappeared in his apartment – and immediately felt his presence.

"Itachi," Naruto addressed the man sitting at his table, drinking a cup of tea. This was already his third visit in only two months. The Uchiha seemed to make it a habit to wait for him to return home.

And it had come so far that he made himself tea, drinking from _his_ cup.

Wearily, Naruto checked that the curtains were closed. The apartment was dark.

"What can I do for you tonight?" he joked tiredly, slumping down on the chair opposite from Itachi. He took off the mask that had once belonged to the man in front of him and pushed back the hood to reveal his hair. He felt it was crusted with blood. Scrunching his nose, he realized that he was still sweaty and dirty and smelling like he hadn't bathed in a week. Well, it had been five days.

Itachi smirked at Naruto's dishevelled appearance.

"Take a shower while I make you dinner."

Naruto blinked dumbly. "Come again?"

Itachi got up and walked around the table. He gently grabbed the blond's arm and pulled him to his feet. "You heard me," he only said and smirked, "Besides, you smell."

Blushing indignantly, Naruto muttered under his breath about 'stupid stuck-up Uchihas'. But he went to the bathroom nonetheless, picking up fresh clothes from his dresser on the way and shut the door more forcefully than necessary.

Not ten minutes later, Naruto re-emerged, drying his messy hair with an orange towel. His bare feet left wet footprints on the floor. He was wearing an orange sleeveless shirt, a relict from his childhood, which was a bit short. The grey sweatpants were not his own but Kiba's. Naruto had 'borrowed' them from him on a mission once and had conveniently forgotten to give them back. But hey, they were just super comfy.

Itachi heard Naruto walking towards him and glanced at him from over his shoulder. "Set the table," he ordered and Naruto shook his head, but did as the raven said.

Their relationship was a strange one. Naruto didn't know when he had come to trust Itachi like this, but his frequent nightly visits had turned into something he actually looked forward to. Itachi would provide him with new information, while Naruto updated him on the situation in Konoha. Afterwards they would talk about a lot of things; such as Itachi's time in the ANBU, his favourite missions, or fellow shinobi he couldn't stand. Naruto didn't like to talk about personal things, so he told him of his ANBU missions, too, new jutsus he had learned, or he just listened and didn't say anything.

Itachi cooking for him was something new, though. But not unpleasant at all. The Jinchuuriki had had the last hot meal two days ago and if Itachi hadn't shown up tonight, he would have gone to bed without dinner once again.

The table was set and Naruto sat down, waiting for Itachi to place a plate in front of him. He had switched on the lamp hanging over the table, while Naruto had been in the bathroom. The blond looked at his plate, frowning.

Itachi had taken off his Akatsuki cloak and hung it over the back of his chair. It was the first time Naruto saw him without it.

"It's pasta with tomato sauce," the Uchiha explained, "It's a secret family recipe." He winked.

"Tomatoes?" Naruto questioned, a sad smile appeared on his lips. "You know, tomatoes always remind me –"

"– of Sasuke," Itachi finished for him, the same sad smile gracing his lips. "I know. It was his favourite dish. Our mother used to make it for us all the time."

He sighed and his eyes seemed to look inwards for a moment, while he remembered his childhood. Before the massacre.

Naruto swallowed. _Tomatoes._ He could picture Sasuke in his head, biting into a round, red tomato. He would laugh at him for his love for the red vegetables. Or was it fruits? He had no idea. Sasuke had always corrected him. And in turn glared at him for only eating ramen. He had never agreed to trying ramen. He had been so stubborn about it. Even at Ichiraku's during lunch with Team Seven, Sasuke was the only one not eating anything because he refused to try the salty noodles his rival loved so much. So in turn, Naruto had been just as stubborn and never actually tried a tomato. Even when Sasuke had offered one to him. And Sasuke rarely offered anything to anyone.

But no, Naruto wouldn't try tomatoes unless Sasuke tried ramen.

So what now? Was he going to cling to an old rivalry? Not trying the meal Itachi had prepared for him, just because Sasuke had been too stubborn to eat ramen?

Naruto chuckled softly, shaking his head. No. The time of their rivalry was gone. Hell, even the time of their friendship or any bond at all was gone.

Bemused, Naruto snorted. He picked up his chop-sticks and aimed for a piece of tomato. Eyeing the red fruit – _or vegetable, whatever_ – he placed it on his tongue.

Itachi watched the young man go through some internal fight, but finally eating. Anxiously, he waited for his reaction.

"Wow," Naruto mumbled between bites, "this is really good!"

Why had he so vehemently refused to try this during their childhood? Tomatoes were really not that bad. Actually, he liked the taste. Besides, it reminded him of Sasuke.

Itachi smiled at the childish display, but also figured that the boy must be quite hungry after just returning from a mission.

They finished their meal in silence. Naruto sighed tiredly and placed his elbow on the table, supporting his head with his hand. He looked at the raven and smiled.

"Thanks, Itachi," he said genuinely, "You're the first person to ever only cook for me."

Well, technically, Kakashi had cooked for him several times already during the time he had stayed at his place, but this was something else.

Itachi's onyx eyes widened a fraction in surprise. That had not been his motivation, but he was glad that he had managed to make the other man happy. The blond had grown on him surprisingly quickly. People who knew Itachi, would never call him a social person. But he felt strangely at ease with this straight-forward blond. He could clearly see now, why Sasuke considered him his best friend.

Which brought him to the reason for his late-night visit.

* * *

><p><em><strong>At the same time in River Country, close to the border of Wind Country:<strong>_

Karin was listlessly eating her rice. They had made camp for the night close to a small fishing village. They had travelled a vast distance in the last two months since they had been in Lightning Country.

Sasuke was more restless than ever and when he wasn't training and working himself close to unconsciousness every evening, they roamed the Elemental Nations; on a constant search for Uchiha Itachi.

Karin prayed to Kami that Juugo and Suigetsu would return from their trip to the small village with some news on Sasuke's criminal brother.

As if Kami had heard her unspoken words, the bushes behind the redhead rustled and her two team mates stepped into the camp.

Sasuke looked up from his untouched bowl of rice, expectantly.

Suigetsu slumped down close to the fire and Juugo joined him. The water-boy helped himself to some rice and looked at it with the same distaste that could be seen on all other faces.

He felt his boss's glare on him and sighed. "Man, I hate rice," he whined, knowing very well that he was tempting Sasuke's patience.

Humouring the raven, Juugo opened his mouth and spoke in his gentle voice, "There were news on the Akatsuki."

Sasuke's face remained blank, no hint whether he was interested or not. But his team knew that the boy was indeed more than interested in any news on the organisation his brother belonged to.

"Man, Sasuke, we had to talk to some really shady people to get this information," Suigetsu whined again. Next to him, Karin snorted at his comment about 'shady people'. She definitely counted Team Taka to the category of 'shady people'.

"The townspeople didn't know anything, but we met this guy in a bar and he apparently knew this guy, who knew those other people, who knew something and –"

"Get to the point, Suigetsu," Sasuke warned lowly.

"Erm, right. So rumour has it that two members of the Akatsuki were killed in Wind Country. Two months ago. But there were no signs of battle and no witnesses. And nobody knows, who killed them."

Sasuke thought about it for a moment. He knew who the members of Akatsuki were; thanks to Orochimaru being a former member. The Snake Sannin hated the organisation nearly as much as he hated Konoha and had often made snide comments about them.

"Did he say which members were killed?" the raven asked.

"Yeah, Sasori and Deidara," Suigetsu replied, not really knowing anything about these two, but he was sure that Sasuke could make use of the names.

Sasuke shrugged. Unimportant. "Anything else?" _Any news on Itachi?_

Suigetsu felt the need to take his eyes off his boss and just shook his head. No news on Itachi. As per usual.

Sasuke's scowled and Karin felt the darkness in his chakra raising its head.

She contemplated their situation. They had been travelling together for a little over half a year now. And they had not even come close to finding Itachi in all this time. Was the older Uchiha really so good at hiding? Or did he actually keep track of their own movements? Purposefully going where they were not?

Karin found that explanation more likely with every day. Itachi must know that his little brother was out to kill him. Karin saw the reason for the older one to avoid Sasuke. She would certainly do the same in his place. And apparently, Itachi didn't have a death wish just yet. So they would probably keep chasing him until they were old and grey.

Karin sweat-dropped at her own depressive thoughts. At first, she had been so happy that Sasuke had _chosen _her and taken her with him on his quest. Suigetsu constantly teased her about her too obvious crush on the Uchiha. And frankly, she saw that maybe she was seeing the dark boy through rose-coloured glasses.

Sasuke was troubled, even unstable at times. The darkness around him was growing with every passing day. It was only a matter of time until the Uchiha's unpredictability became dangerous to the people around him.

What would they do then? She really hoped that they found his brother soon. Sasuke could kill him and finally get his revenge. And then...

_And then?_

Karin's eyes widened in sudden confusion, which caused her glasses to slide down on her nose. Impatiently, she pushed them back up and her head snapped up to look at Sasuke.

The raven was staring into the dancing flames of their camp fire, obviously lost in his own thoughts.

"Sa-Sasuke-kun?" she asked hesitantly. There was no reaction, so she called his name again, a bit louder this time.

He lifted his head, black eyebrows languidly raised in question.

"Sasuke-kun, I was wondering..." she trailed off, but seeing his relatively calm gaze transform into an impatient glare, she quickly continued. "What are we going to do once you killed Itachi?"

The redhead made sure to phrase her words in a way that didn't reveal her personal doubts about ever actually finding the older Uchiha, let alone Sasuke killing him.

The younger Uchiha's glare transformed into a thoughtful frown. He had been entertaining the idea of returning to Konoha since the ramen incident in Lightning Country two months ago. But it still was only a thought, a nice idea. He couldn't return until they had found Itachi.

He had left his home with one goal. Revenge.

His decision was weighing heavy on his heart. But he knew what he needed to do to find peace. At least, he hoped that fulfilling his revenge was what would make his mind find peace.

Karin's question went unanswered.

Sasuke knew that speaking his idea of going back to Konoha out loud, would only further weaken his already dwindling resolve.

* * *

><p><em><strong>In Konoha, Naruto's apartment:<strong>_

The blond sighed and ran a hand through his still wet hair. Naruto had known the day to fulfil his promise to Itachi would come eventually. But hearing it out of the raven's mouth was making it seem so... final.

He had tried to prepare himself for the day to go rescue Sasuke by trying to ban his former from his mind. It had clearly failed. He was not prepared.

Naruto was grateful for the fact that Itachi had said it would still be some weeks until he would send for him to come for Sasuke. So he had another 'some weeks' to mentally prepare himself for the dreaded confrontation.

The boy rolled his tense shoulders and looked at the older raven, who was still sitting at his kitchen table. Itachi was looking at him, apologetically. But Naruto had promised and everyone knew that... that Uzumaki Naruto never went back on his word. _That's my stupid nindo._

They sat in silence. Naruto's tea grew cold, but he didn't mind. He had lost his appetite anyway. After hearing the other news Itachi had had for him.

As troubled as he felt, his eyelids became heavy and eventually he felt his eyes droop close. He barely heard how Itachi pushed back his chair and walked around the table to gently lift him up.

Naruto was too exhausted after the mission and the conversation with Itachi, both physically and mentally, to care about being carried to bed like a child – by a man he had once considered one of his greatest enemies, no less. Not that he could actually make the connection, since no-one had ever been there to carry him to bed when he had been little.

Itachi carefully placed the half-sleeping young man on the unmade bed. The raven smiled at his still form, as he tucked him in. The last person he had tucked in like that had been his little brother. The smile on his lips faltered, a look of pure sadness and regret in his onyx eyes.

_Soon, little brother. We will safe you soon, just wait,_ Itachi thought as he listened to Naruto's regular breathing.

* * *

><p><em>(1) <span>Kamui:<span> _Using the ability granted to him by his _Mangekyō Sharingan_, Kakashi can create a barrier sending everything within its vicinity to another dimension. He can also control the size of the barrier.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading, first of all! I hope you liked to get some news on Sasuke!<strong>

**Chapter 13 turned out to have over 13k words and it wasn't even completely finished yet... so I had to split it up at this point. I told some of you that Naruto and Sasuke will meet again in Chap 15... so that's now Chap 16! But that's my final word now! So, NARUTO AND SASUKE meet again in CHAPTER 16 !**

**But major things are going to happen in the next two chapters before that!**

**Since I actually wrote chapters 13 and 14 as one, chapter 14 is almost finished. So I'm hoping to update again before Christmas. But I can't make promises, because I actually have to study.**

**I kind of dislike using the cliché of Sasuke having nightmares... but I planned it like this from the start, so he's stuck with them. For now.**

**Tell me how you liked it, please!**

**There are already some important hints in this chapter... I never write anything without a reason, as unimportant as it seems...**

_**Next chapter: What is Naruto hiding from his team mates? And why is he so irritated?**_

**Oh and is anyone reading the latest chapters of the manga? If not, then skip this paragraph! _Spoilers_! **But am I the only one wondering where the hell Madara/Tobi/No-One/Whoever that guy is nowadays is getting all the Rinnegan and Sharingan from? Seriously, does he have some kind of secret rinnegan factory? I thought these eyes were like super rare...

**Have a nice Christmas time, hopefully less stressful than my own! :)**

**xXHaneliXx**


	14. Chapter 14

**The author says:** I'm sorry for the super long wait, but I had exams and then all the holidays and skiing in Austria... Well, the chapter was finished some time ago already, but I didn't find the time to proofread it.

I wish you all a happy new year (a bit late, but still!)!

Thanks to everyone, who reviewed the last chapter! I'm sorry for not getting back to any of you with my limited time!

I hope you enjoy this chapter and please tell me what you think! :)

**I don't own Naruto.**

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><p><strong>'He had no idea'<strong>

**Chapter 14**

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><p><em><strong>Regrets collect like old friends<br>Here to relive your darkest moments  
>I can see no way, I can see no way<br>And all of the ghouls come out to play**_

**_And every demon wants his pound of flesh_**  
><strong><em>But I like to keep some things to myself<em>**  
><strong><em>I like to keep my issues strong<em>**  
><strong><em>It's always darkest before the dawn<em>**

**_And I've been a fool and I've been blind_**  
><strong><em>I can never leave the past behind<em>**  
><strong><em>I can see no way, I can see no way<em>**  
><strong><em>I'm always dragging that horse around<em>**

**'Shake It Out' by Florence and The Machine**

* * *

><p>Naruto awoke before sunrise the next morning. His apartment was dark and there was no sign of Itachi's presence. The Uchiha had left. Just like he always just vanished and returned whenever he found the chance to sneak away from the Akatsuki. Naruto never knew when he would see him again... only now... he knew that the next time he would see Itachi, it was to go after Sasuke...<p>

As much as Naruto was normally looking forward to Itachi's visits, the blond suddenly wished he would never see him again. If that would mean he wouldn't have to face Sasuke. And his own fears.

Naruto switched on the lamp on his nightstand and squinted his eyes against the sudden brightness. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and glanced at the alarm clock. 5:28 am. He hadn't caught more than four hours of sleep. Nonetheless, the boy got up for his daily morning routine. He rarely slept in and used the early hours of the morning for training.

Dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, he closed the door behind him as he left the apartment. He started running as soon as he stepped onto the street and began his laps around the village. He reminded himself very much of Gai and Lee, but he had come to value the quiet hours of the early morning. The streets were empty except for shinobi on duty. They greeted him and followed his running form with tired eyes, wondering how the boy had the energy to run so early when all they could think of was the end of their shift.

His shaggy hair jumped up and down with every step. He inhaled deeply, enjoying the fresh air that filled his lungs; successfully chasing away the last remnants of sleep.

The villagers had become more or less used to his presence again. Still, some of them shot him hateful looks, but most of them had learned that it was better to just ignore the blond Jinchuuriki. His rather uncontrolled killing intent had scared most of them off. And while Naruto was a bit apprehensive of making the villagers afraid of him, he was also grateful that they left him alone for the biggest part of the day.

There were still shop-owners and even restaurants, who refused him entry. But Naruto just avoided those. Nobody had tried beating him up. _Yet_, he added cynically.

Eventually, his thoughts returned to what Itachi had told him yesterday night. It had not been solely about Sasuke, but also about one of his fellow Jinchuuriki. The Akatsuki had managed to capture Nii Yugito, container of the Two-Tailed Demon Cat, the Nibi. Naruto shook his head in regret while running.

Of course, he had made Tsunade send word to the other Hidden Villages with Jinchuuriki about the threat the Akatsuki posed to them. Except for Sunagakure and Gaara, all had answered that Konohagakure was overreacting. And now one of them had lost her life, because the Raikage had been too arrogant to accept help from Fire Country.

Hopefully, Kumogakure would now realize that the Akatsuki was indeed a threat. Lightning Country had another Jinchuuriki, the container of the Eight-Tails, the Hachibi. Apparently, he was the Raikage's brother. Maybe the Raikage would contact Konoha again, in order to protect his brother.

The Jinchuuriki in Kumo – Naruto thought his name was Kirabi, but wasn't sure, Itachi had only mentioned him once; he would have to check his scrolls again – Gaara and Naruto were the only 'free' Jinchuuriki left. The Akatsuki had already managed to capture – and hence kill – the other six.

Naruto made a mental note to tell Tsunade to contact the Raikage again. He was sure that the man was more willing to cooperate now.

The blond ran his twelfth lap around the village, taking in the soothing sight of the red sun that lazily crept over the horizon. Naruto inwardly prayed that he wouldn't run into Lee and Gai-sensei this morning. He wasn't in the mood to endure their endless shouts of youth and whatnot today. It left him time to think freely and nobody would question the scowl that had settled on his face once again.

He finished after twenty laps and jogged back to his apartment, looking forward to a shower. As he entered his apartment, though, his eyes fell on the coffee table. Someone had rammed a kunai into the wooden surface, attaching a note to it.

Naruto cursed Itachi for further demolishing his already shabby furniture and angrily pulled the kunai free, taking the note. Blue eyes scanned the paper and a smile spread over his lips. It was the recipe for the meal they had had the night before. Pasta and tomatoes.

Since Naruto's cooking skills were still non-existent, he doubted that he would manage to prepare the meal. But Itachi knew that he was helpless in the kitchen and therefore had scribbled down every single step. Kami, Naruto even saw how he explained how to boil water. He rolled his eyes and grinned. It would probably turn out disastrous, but the Uchiha had made such an effort and now he felt like he owed it to him to at least _try _cooking this.

But not now; now he needed a shower and then head over to ANBU headquarters. His team mates always took the first day after a mission to relax and catch up with their families. Naruto accepted it and let them rest. But that didn't mean he couldn't train.

So he trained with the other ANBU at HQ. If Anko wasn't on a mission, the woman loved to spar with Naruto, always going all out. The blond enjoyed training with the ANBU a lot; it was always more aggressive, more intense and more exhausting than 'normal' training.

* * *

><p>Six hours later found a panting Naruto taking needy gulps from his water bottle. His hair stuck to his forehead and neck. He had long discarded the metal breast plate of his ANBU uniform, leaving him in only the black undershirt. The Kyuubi's red chakra was billowing around his right thigh, healing a deep cut he had received from his opponent.<p>

Said opponent, was currently being healed by a medic-nin. Naruto had broken his arm and leg with one of his more advanced Futon Jutsus.

A tall ANBU with a Cat mask approached Naruto. He had noticed him watching his spar with the other shinobi. And also the spar before with Anko. The man took off his mask as he came closer and revealed dark, almond-shaped eyes; his silver forehead protector framed his face on both sides.

Naruto nodded in greeting. Here in ANBU, the man's code name was Tenzou; outside he was known as Yamato. He had been one of the shinobi assigned to testing him for the position of ANBU captain by Tsunade.

Tenzou often watched over his training. No one had assigned him to it officially, but Naruto guessed that Tsunade as well as Kakashi had asked him to keep an eye on him whenever he was messing with more high-level techniques or doing all-out spars. Over the last month Naruto had often shown signs of using the Kyuubi's chakra.

Most of the times, it was unintentional. The more advanced the technique and the more chakra Naruto needed to mould, the harder it became for him to suppress the demon's energy. It started with his eyes, every time. Slitted pupils, blue changing to crimson. Next came his whisker-marks and teeth; then the claws and the last sign of the Kyuubi's influence was the manifestation of the red chakra around his body.

Whenever that would happen, Tenzou would restrain Naruto with his Mokuton Jutsu and force the Fox's power back into the seal. It left Naruto panting and weak for some moments, since it took a great amount of his own chakra, too.

So far, the manifestation of the tails had occurred six times. The second time, Tenzou had not been present and Naruto's team mates had to use a chakra suppression sealing tag on him. Naruto had provided the other three boys of his team with a good amount of the sealing tags, for that they could intervene in case he wouldn't be able to fight the Kyuubi back on his own.

"Naruto-san," Tenzou said, shaking the blond out of his reverie, "That was an impressive fight." Naruto knew that the man was talking about the fact that not once during the fight had he shown signs of the Kyuubi's influence.

It was like that; some days, Naruto could hear the demon whispering in his mind, all day long; then again days passed and it felt like the demon wasn't there at all.

Naruto blinked at him, surprised about the compliment. Reflexively, his hand reached up and started rubbing his neck sheepishly. He would probably never stop doing that.

"Um, thanks, Tenzou-senpai. But it was only a spar, you know," he muttered. Saying, that it hadn't been such a feat to suppress the evil chakra today.

A heavy clap on his back made him choke on the water he was drinking.

"Ha, Tenzou," Anko's loud voice chimed in. "Told ya that boy is brilliant! He was trained by the best, after all," she added with a wink and a very self-satisfied grin.

"And by 'the best' I assume you are referring to yourself, Anko-san?" Tenzou asked friendly.

Anko agreed enthusiastically and decidedly ignored Naruto's comment about how Anko had only trained him for four weeks. Tenzou threw the blond a knowing look and then continued to listen to Anko's boasting.

Naruto rolled his eyes at his purple-haired friend. It was funny how different life was within the walls of the ANBU HQ. There was nobody, who sent nasty looks Naruto's way or resented him for being the Kyuubi's host.

It had not been like that when he had first arrived at the HQ, but slowly Naruto had managed to gain the other ninjas' respect. They saw how he pushed himself during training, saw his dedication and his strength. Naruto was currently the youngest captain in the ANBU and many of the more experienced fighters thought he was not ready for the job. After what had happened with Itachi, they had become very apprehensive about young recruits in high positions.

Some had challenged him, trying to put him back in his place. And even though Naruto didn't win against any of them in the beginning, they saw him getting up every time he was beaten; saw how he gave his very best, even in a mere spar. Soon, the others came and offered him advice, helped him with his training or just talked to him.

Hearing about his team's battle against the Akatsuki in Suna had swayed even the last of Naruto's critics. While the regular shinobi forces of Konoha had no idea about what his team was doing, rumours had spread like a wildfire within the ANBU troops. Since there was no need to deny what they had achieved, Kiba told anyone who wanted to hear about it. And a good battle story was something every ANBU just loved to hear. Kiba's boasting added to their increasingly high reputation.

With growing respect for Naruto's team, also the respect for the young Jinchuuriki grew and Naruto felt more and more comfortable at the HQ. But today his mood was subdued; the knowledge of the inevitable confrontation with Sasuke was still on his mind.

He was grateful for the distraction as Kiba walked out of the HQ building and onto the training grounds.

"Oi, taichou," he called out to him, once again managing to make the formal address for captain sound like a mocking nickname. He walked over and frowned at him. "You've been here all the time?"

Naruto just shrugged in answer.

"Idiot, we've been waiting for you! You were supposed to meet us for lunch, remember?"

Naruto's blue eyes widened and it became clear to Kiba that the boy had once again completely forgotten about the world around him while training. It was not the first time. His team mates should be used to it by now.

"Geez, Naruto," Kiba sighed and grabbed his arm, pulling him into the building. He ignored the other's protests. "Come on, you've been here all day and you need to get ready for tonight."

At Naruto's lack of reaction and the quizzical look on his face, he knew that the blond had forgotten about tonight as well. "Ino's party?" Kiba reminded him dryly.

"Ah, sure," Naruto quickly said, only then remembering. Ino had finished her time as an apprentice in the Torture and Interrogation Force and was now a Special Jounin. On that occasion, she was throwing a big party and had invited half of Konoha.

It was already late afternoon and the party would start at eight. Naruto had approximately three hours to get ready. More than enough for Naruto. But before he had to see Tsunade.

Kiba walked Naruto home. It was a stupid habit the guys had developed. They had become over-protective of their captain since they had witnessed the villagers' reaction towards him some months ago. So whenever they had the time, they accompanied him.

"What's wrong, taichou?" Kiba asked, glancing at the blond from the corner of his slitted eyes.

"Nothing," was the too quick reply.

"Naruto, I can smell it on you. Something is clearly bothering you."

_Stupid Kiba and his stupid nose. _"They caught the Nibi Jinchuuriki." Naruto didn't need to elaborate who 'they' were. There was only one group who was after the demon containers.

Kiba nodded grimly. "Itachi?" he just asked, wanting to know where Naruto got that information from. He saw him nod next to him.

"So there's only three left now," the Inuzuka stated and immediately cursed himself, as the boy next to him visibly flinched. Of course Naruto would be worried about these news.

They arrived at Naruto's apartment and he turned to the slightly taller boy. He gently placed his large hand on his shoulder. "We will stop them before they get anyone else, Naru," he assured him quietly.

Naruto gazed down at him, grim and worried. He appreciated Kiba's gesture, knowing very well that the Inuzuka was usually the most inept at things like this. He felt bad for keeping the other reason for his worry from him, but he couldn't make himself say it. It would make it more real. And it was already real enough for him. Only some weeks away.

Forcing himself to grin, Naruto muttered a lame "Thanks" and Kiba let his hand fall from his shoulder.

"You come pick me up for the party later?" Naruto asked.

Suddenly, Kiba blushed and he looked to the ground, finding great interest in his sandals. He mumbled something, but even Naruto's sensitive ears didn't catch it. Finding his sudden change in mood very disturbing – Kiba was so not the type to blush and be shy – the blond poked him in the chest, prompting him to repeat himself.

"I'm going with Hinata," the older boy muttered very uncharacteristically.

Naruto frowned, confused, and not getting it at all. "So what? We can pick her up together then," he said, puzzled.

Kiba looked up again and rolled his eyes. Naruto was kind of dense when it came to things like this. "No, Naruto. I asked her to go to the party with me." He explained carefully and looked at Naruto expectantly, waiting for him to catch up.

He blinked. Frowned. Opened his mouth.

Then his eyes widened in sudden understanding. "Oooooh," he made and a cheeky grin appeared on his face. The blond wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Kiba barked a laugh at the sight. "So it's like a _date?_" he whispered excitedly.

Kiba grinned, gone was his momentary shyness. "Sure it is!" he winked. "And stop whispering. It's not a secret, ya know."

Naruto's grin only widened. He was genuinely happy for his team mate.

Kiba turned to leave. Remembering something, he looked back at Naruto over his shoulder. "Ino said to remind you to wear something nice."

Naruto's grin fell and he frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Don't know, dude," Kiba said, walking away, "No orange, I guess."

"I stopped wearing orange when I was thirteen, moron," he muttered, irritated. Realizing Kiba was not stopping, he called after him, "Oi, dog-breath, wait!" But he was gone and Naruto was left alone with his lack of fashion sense.

* * *

><p>A second freezing shower – thanks to the still broken heating in his apartment – later, Naruto entered the Hokage's office through the open window, making Tsunade jump. The older woman cursed her gaki under her breath, but fell silent, as she saw Naruto closing the window behind him. He only did that when they needed to talk privately.<p>

Naruto unceremoniously flopped down on the chair in front of the desk. Tsunade immediately sensed that something was wrong. His shoulders were too tense, the scowl on his brow too deep.

"They caught the Nibi Jinchuuriki in Kumogakure," Naruto came straight to the point. Better get this over with quickly.

"When?" Tsunade simply asked, knowing very well not to test Naruto's patience when he was in a mood like this.

"Some days ago."

The Hokage suppressed the sad look that crept into her eyes. Naruto hated that look; being pitied by others. But Tsunade couldn't help but feel for the boy she called her son. Naruto was obviously shaken by the news of the other Jinchuuriki's death.

"So now there are only –"

"– three left. Yes, I _know_!" Naruto snapped harshly.

Tsunade's eyes widened at his behaviour. Naruto ran a weary hand over his closed eyes and exhaled tiredly. Tsunade got the feeling that there was something else bothering the young man. He was a tad too aggressive for this to 'merely' be about the Nibi container. However, Tsunade's rare motherly instincts told her to better not press the subject.

Naruto gave a weak apology for talking to the older woman like that, but Tsunade just shrugged it off. It wasn't like she took any offence in it.

"Send a messenger to Kumogakure. Maybe the Raikage will listen to our warnings now," Naruto said and got an approving nod from the Hokage. She regarded the younger blond calmly, inwardly chuckling at how Naruto was giving orders to the Hokage so easily.

She waited some more moments before speaking, in case the boy wanted to talk about what else was troubling him. But Tsunade didn't expect Naruto to address it on his own. She knew how he was; always bottling up his emotions.

Tsunade wanted to comfort the boy somehow, but as she opened her mouth to say something, Naruto got up, effectively shutting her up.

"Tell me when you hear anything from Kumo," Naruto said, walking to the window; not even waiting for confirmation.

Tsunade stared at the open window, hoping that whatever was causing Naruto's bad mood would soon solve itself.

Sadly, she had no idea that it was only going to get worse.

* * *

><p>Five minutes to eight, a knock sounded at Naruto's front door. He recognized Neji and Shikamaru's chakra signatures and called an "It's open!" from out of his bathroom. The Hyuuga opened the door and entered.<p>

"Did Kiba send you?" the blond called.

"Yes, he said you were in need of company," the brunette confirmed calmly and waited for Naruto to mouth his denial. But it never came. Neji's pale eyes narrowed slightly, sharing a look with Shikamaru. Maybe Kiba had been right about Naruto acting weird.

"Guys, do I look okay?" Naruto asked insecurely as he stepped out of the bathroom. He spread his arms and looked rather unhappy, standing in the middle of the small apartment.

Shikamaru took a quick look at him. "Troublesome."

A soft smile played on Neji's lips. "You look fine, Naruto-san."

"Fine?" he questioned, looking down at himself. "That has to do," he muttered, not sure whether it was good or not.

Neji silently watched the blond tugging uncomfortably on his kimono jacket. It was a dark blue, that accentuated the lighter colour of his eyes. Tsunade's necklace was hanging around his neck, visible against his tanned skin. Together with the loose matching pants, Naruto looked not too formal, but neither under-dressed.

The two brunettes had never seen anything like this on Naruto. Thinking back, they didn't think they had ever seen him in a kimono at all.

"Don't you like it, Naruto-san?" Neji's gentle voice asked.

Naruto looked up. "I don't know. I guess I'm just not used to wearing something as formal as this," he admitted. "Jiraiya got this for me when we were travelling. Two years ago... I've never worn it before..."

He sighed, trying to get used to the sash around his midriff. "Don't you think it's a bit too fancy?" he blurted, staring at the othe young men for an answer.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, wondering what he had gotten himself into. Fashion was definitely not included in the genius's repertoire. The pineapple-haired Nara was also wearing a kimono; his was a dark green with brown pants. Nothing special, but more formal than his usual shinobi garb.

Neji was more suited to give fashion advice. Or so Shikamaru thought, since the older male was always wearing the formal robes of the Hyuuga clan. But seeing Naruto's slightly desperate face, Shikamaru took pity on the blond.

"A blue kimono isn't fancy, Naruto. Just look at Neji," he drawled lazily, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "He's wearing a dress."

Neji frowned at his friend. "It's not a dress, Shikamaru-san. It's a traditional kimono with the fitting _hakama._"

The _hakama_ was the traditional undivided or divided skirt one wore under the _haori_, the jacket. Naruto and Shikamaru were wearing the more modern version of a kimono, while the long-haired member of the Hyuuga clan preferred the traditional style.

"So technically... you're wearing a skirt, not a dress," Naruto snickered, forgotten was his temporary insecurity.

Shikamaru smirked in amusement at Neji's deadpan glare. Naruto quickly looked away from the eerie, pale eyes.

"Come on, Naruto-san," the Hyuuga stiffly reminded his captain, "You know how Ino is. Let's not be late."

Naruto rolled his eyes at the comment on Ino. His fellow blonde would be furious if they were late. She had planned this whole evening for some time and was really proud that she had successfully been promoted.

As the three walked through the dark streets towards the Yamanaka residence, Naruto was very quiet. Neji's pale eyes had long taken notice of the boy's tense shoulders, his tight jaw and the scowl that had appeared on his face as soon as the fashion issues had been solved.

Naruto was still not as lively as back during his childhood, but he had opened up again. More and more during the time with his team. He was still quieter and more serious, but had regained some of his old cheekiness. He had even started pulling pranks again; with Kiba as both his partner in crime and victim. Even if it was only a mere fraction of the former liveliness that had surrounded him once, the others were happy to see the small improvements.

Neji watched Naruto and waited for the blond to talk. He knew that Naruto couldn't stand his pale stares for long. Eventually, he would talk. Shikamaru glanced at the blond teen in their midst, waiting for his patience to run out.

"Stop staring, Neji!" Naruto eventually complained, not looking at either of them.

Shikamaru lit a cigarette, which earned him a very angry glare from Naruto. He hated his unhealthy habit and made no secret of his disapproval. When they were on duty, he could forbid Shikamaru to smoke; since he was his captain. But not now.

Both boys saw him fumbling with the hem of his _haori_. Some moments later, Naruto sighed, defeated. "I guess Kiba told you about the Nibi Jinchuuriki?"

He saw both heads nod from the corner of his eyes.

They walked in silence again.

Neji kept staring at the blond with his unnerving pale eyes. He saw that something else was up. Naruto didn't even have to say anything. Nehi just _saw_ it. Like he always saw when something was up with the younger teen. Was Naruto still that easy to read? _Stupid Hyuugas and their creepy eyes, _he thought.

Naruto felt increasingly irritated about Neji's concerned stare. Kami, he hated it when everyone was worried about him. When had his team mates gained the ability to read his moods like an open book? Kiba _smelled_ his worries, Neji _saw_ his distress and Shikamaru... Well, the genius just _knew._ It was kind of creepy, actually.

Debating with himself, Naruto's scowl deepened and he felt Neji's gaze leave him. At least the Hyyuga knew when to better leave him alone.

Shikamaru on the other hand, whacked him over the head with his flat hand. Naruto rubbed his head, glaring at his brunette team mate. He knew what it was for, though. The gesture said as much as 'stop being stupid' and 'we're here for you to talk to'.

Naruto huffed and decidedly ignored both males. He was glad when they arrived at their destination some minutes later. Ino greeted them enthusiastically, too loudly and too happy for Naruto's current liking. The bleach-blonde's smile faltered a bit at Naruto's scowl.

Naruto saw her reaction and immediately gave her one of his best fake smiles and hugged the girl back, hoping that it was enough to cover his increasingly foul mood.

Ino's squeal of "Naruto, you look so _handsome_!" didn't help much, either. Naruto grinned weakly in thanks and new he had failed to fool the new Jounin, when Ino's eyes flickered to Neji and Shikamaru, silently questioning them what was wrong.

To Naruto's luck, Kiba and Hinata arrived just then and Ino was squealing about how cute they looked together. Naruto saw Hinata blush furiously and Kiba grinned wolfishly, one arm over the heiress's shoulders.

Naruto turned away from the others and walked into the huge living room that had been nicely decorated by Ino. A banner said 'Congratulations, Ino-chan!' in bright purple letters. Probably from her proud parents. Naruto felt a sharp pang of jealousy.

He was forced to take his eyes off it, when a familiar chakra signature invaded his personal space. Had it been anyone else, he'd probably have started growling by now.

A glass was shoved into his hand. "Drink up!" he was ordered. But the blond just stared questioningly at the purple liquid in the glass. It looked poisonous and reminded him too much of the poison used by a certain missing-nin from Sunagakure.

"It's fine, gaki, just drink it. You'll feel better afterwards."

Believing the deep, slightly gruff voice, Naruto downed the glass. The heat of the definitely alcoholic beverage filled his stomach. "Why is it purple?" he asked, tasting the last drops on his tongue.

"Don't know. Everything's purple in here."

Naruto's eyes wandered through the room and indeed, Jiraiya was right. Purple was definitely the ruling colour in the room. It reminded him of his own orange apartment.

"I know you're in a bad mood, gaki, but tone it down a bit, will ya?" the Sannin reprimanded him, "Or people are going to be scared."

Naruto snorted mirthlessly, staring into his empty glass. So Jiraiya had picked up on his mood as well. Probably Tsunade had told him about their earlier conversation. The white-haired man ruffled his hair affectionately and Naruto actually felt an annoyed but genuine grin tug at the corner of his lips.

"Nice kimono," Jiraiya grinned broadly and winked at his student. "You look so _mature_, kiddo."

Naruto felt his eye twitch. He seemed to be gathering flattering adjectives tonight.

Jiraiya laughed loudly at his student's deadpan expression. His laughter only grew as Naruto glared up at the tall man and stalked away.

Naruto made his way to the kitchen, where he hoped to find more of the purple punch. Several people greeted him on his way through the house. Tormented by his thoughts, Naruto put on a bright smile that was so fake, it hurt to keep it up.

Finally arriving in the kitchen, he successfully spotted the bowl of punch and meant to refill his glass, when Shikamaru took it from him and refilled it for him. Wordlessly, he handed it back to his captain and raised his glass to him. They drank up and the brunette refilled their glasses once more.

All the while, the Nara heir kept a close eye on the blond. Being the genius he was, the brunette saw that the blond captain was far too upset for it to be solely about the Akatsuki's success of capturing another Jinchuuriki. He was pretty sure it had to do something with Itachi's visit. The Uchiha must've told Naruto something else; something else that affected the boy more greatly than it probably should.

Or it was about the _only thing_ that could affect Naruto in such a way.

And Shikamaru hoped he was wrong. If this was about Sasuke... Shikamaru had hoped that it would still be some time until Naruto had to make good on his promise to Itachi.

He didn't take his eyes off of the blond as he took the empty glass from him and replaced it with his still full one. "Troublesome man," he muttered, when Naruto emptied it and glared at him.

Shikamaru smirked at Naruto, ignoring the fierce glare, knowing he wasn't really angry at him. "By the way, Naruto," he drawled, teasingly, "You look just _lovely_ tonight."

Naruto deadpanned. A second later his glare returned with doubled force and he shoved his empty glass in Shikamaru's chest. Naruto turned on his heels and stalked away, for the second time that evening.

Shikamaru chuckled, amused at his captain's very obvious discomfort about being complimented; silently thinking that the formal clothes did look good on the other. It was funny, how the boy didn't even blink an eye when he was covered in blood, but squirmed uncomfortably when he had to put on something more formal than his ANBU uniform.

Naruto meanwhile tried to not let his annoyance show on his face, when yet another male shoved a glass of the purple liquid into his hand. "Drink up! You look like you need it."

"Geez, do you guys want to get me drunk?" he snapped, but obeyed nonetheless. He licked his lips and glared up at Kakashi.

The jounin only eye-smiled merrily at his student. "Ne, Naru, did anyone tell you that –"

"Shut it, Kakashi!" the blond snapped. Four people complimenting him on his appearance tonight was more than enough. He didn't need to hear it from his perverted sensei as well.

Kakashi's merry eye-smile didn't falter. Instead he added, "I like it when you are bossy like that, Naruto."

Wrong thing to say. Naruto huffed and walked away from him, running straight into Ino. Judging from the red colour on Ino's cheeks, she had enjoyed probably as much of the purple punch as Naruto had. But Ino didn't have a personal demon to burn the alcohol from her system.

"Narutooo," she cooed, taking Naruto's hands into hers. Naruto was blinking dumbly, feeling the heat in his stomach expand over his body.

"Tell me, Naruto," Ino whispered, not discreetly at all, "Did Neji and Shikamaru-kun pick you up?" she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Yes," Naruto confirmed slowly; it was kind of obvious, since they had all arrived together.

"So who of the two is your date?" Ino whispered, very eager to hear the latest gossip on Naruto's love life. It would be the first news on the teen's love life, to be precise. As it was non-existent.

Naruto sweat-dropped. "No, Ino, they just picked me up earlier. Besides, we're all _guys_!"

"Like Kiba picked up Hinata?" Ino prompted.

"No, Ino. Not like that."

Ino frowned. "But you two would make such a cute couple," she slurred happily. Naruto wondered briefly whether Ino was talking about Shikamaru or Neji. But since Shikamaru was with Temari, kind of, Ino must be talking about the Hyuuga. Naruto blushed at the idea of being with Neji like that. He really wasn't into men. Well, neither did he have any interest in any of the girls. But before Naruto could stammer a stupid response, Shikamaru rescued him from their bleach-blonde hostess.

"Ino," the Nara said lazily, "I heard Chouji is looking for you."

Ino's face lit up and she quickly scanned the room for her old team mate. Spotting him, she quickly rushed over to him, leaving Naruto and Shikamaru behind.

Shikamaru handed his captain yet another glass of punch, eyeing him intently. He really felt the urge to somehow comfort him, lift the weight on his shoulders. But now was not the time. Naruto was already scowling again under his scrutinizing gaze.

Some hours and several glasses later, Naruto was listening to his perverted sensei, talking about how his newest porn book was coming along. The white-haired Sannin had one arm flung around Tsunade's shoulders, holding her close against his side.

Naruto's foul mood lifted a bit at the sight of them. He was genuinely happy for the two Sannin, that he considered family. Tsunade was blushing like a schoolgirl in Jiraiya's arms, as the tall man affectionately pecked her on the lips. The blonde Hokage swatted her lover's arms away, mumbling something about 'not in public'.

Jiraiya threw his young student a look, reprimanding him for his dark expression. He ruffled his blond hair, but didn't say anything. Tsunade was slurring, telling Naruto to loosen up. Naruto rolled his blue eyes for what felt like the thousandth time that night.

He left the two older people standing and walked over to Kakashi. Soon, the man's comments about his appearance made Naruto angry again and he told him to shut the hell up. His sensei immediately sobered up a bit and his single dark eye hardened.

"You're not enjoying yourself," he remarked.

Naruto snorted. He felt very sarcastic tonight. "Sure I am, see," he said, lifting his punch glass, "I'm drinking purple punch, I'm socializing, I even danced a bit." He threw him a look. "I'm _totally _enjoying myself."

Sadness and concern flickered through Kakashi's eye at hearing his words. Shikamaru had warned him earlier that something was bothering his student, but Kakashi had not expected it to be this bad. He didn't like cynical Naruto one bit.

The blond saw Kakashi's change in demeanour and knew he shouldn't have said that. It was childish and only further giving his friends a reason to be worried about him. He sighed and emptied his glass. Placing it on a nearby table, he muttered a half-hearted apology to Kakashi and told him he would go home now.

Almost to the front door, his team mates stopped him. The three brunettes just looked at their blond captain and waited for him to say anything. They knew he was overly testy today.

Naruto closed his eyes, exasperated. Thanks to Kyuubi, the alcohol in his system wasn't nearly as soothing as he would have liked; it helped nothing to ease his mind. Instead, the fact that the demon wasn't even allowing him a night of indulgence, only annoyed him further. Today was really not a good day.

"Guys," Naruto sighed, forcing himself to sound calm, "I'm leaving. Let me through."

"Naruto, you are –" Kiba started, but was cut off.

"I'm _what_? In a bad mood? Irritated? Worried? Angry?" he glared at them. "So maybe I am! Now let me leave."

The three shared a worried look.

"I'll walk you home," Shikamaru offered. And immediately realized that he maybe should have said nothing at all.

Naruto felt it was getting very hard to remain friendly. "Can you just stop babying me for at least _one fucking day_?" he hissed. "And stop looking at me like _that_!"

The blond pushed his way through them. Too stunned at his aggressive tone, they let him go. The door slammed shut behind him.

Kiba ran a hand through his shaggy hair and exhaled slowly; confused and very concerned. Shikamaru's hand twitched, feeling the need to light a cigarette. Neji mouthed the one thought that was on their minds.

"Training tomorrow is going to be a bitch."

No one disagreed.

* * *

><p>Naruto lay on his shabby bed, orange sheets crumpled around his naked legs. Staring out his window at the silver moon, his mind was swirling.<p>

He successfully ignored the voice in his head that told him he was being unfair and irrational for letting his anger get the best of him. His team mates didn't deserve to be treated like that.

But he couldn't stand the look in their eyes. Too worried, too concerned, too... pitying. He hated to be pitied. It was almost worse than being stared at with those hateful eyes for being a monster. He wasn't weak and they treated him like a baby. It wasn't like he couldn't look after himself. He had done that for the main part of his life.

Hell, four years ago he would have given everything for someone to care about him like that. And now? He was being an ungrateful asshole only because... only because...

Because he wouldn't admit to himself that he was fucking _scared_ of the fact that he would be facing his former best friend in only some weeks; that he was so insecure about making that promise; and the fact that the mere thought of seeing Sasuke again was creating a turmoil of emotions.

_Sasuke..._

Oh, how much he _hated _the boy.

For being able to affect him like that. With the mere thought of him.

For being able to turn him into a quivering child. At the thought of seeing him again.

For wishing he could go back in time. And undo his betrayal.

For aiming to kill him. With the chidori through his chest.

For making his chest hurt. So much.

But what scared Naruto the most was the thought of his resolve breaking in the very first second he laid eyes on Sasuke. Despite knowing that he had meant to kill him. Despite knowing that he had betrayed him. Despite knowing that he had stolen his happiness.

Because, after all, Sasuke had been his very first friend. The first person he had looked up to.

Would it be enough to convince himself he hated him?

* * *

><p>Neji's prediction from the night before had come true. Training had been torture. It had not helped that the three young men were equally hungover, lacking sleep and that their captain was barking one order after the other.<p>

Kiba was complaining loudly. Shikamaru was whining under his breath. And Neji took it with as much dignity as possible.

After five hours of non-stop sparring and several bleeding cuts and dark bruises later, Kiba flopped down on the earthy ground. "Water," he panted, lying on his back with a heaving chest.

Neji took pity on the Inuzuka and tossed him his water bottle. Kiba tiredly lifted one arm and caught it out of the air. Shikamaru and Naruto ended their spar and walked over to the others.

The three looked pretty beaten and Naruto began to feel bad for pushing them like that.

He nervously played with his katana, while searching for something to say. There was only one thing to say; he had been mean and unfair last night. "Look, guys..." he started hesitantly, "I... I'm sorry about –"

A hand was firmly placed on his shoulder, interrupting him. "It's all right, idiot. We know..."

The blond turned his head to face Shikamaru. Naruto smiled weakly at the brunette.

Kiba stood up from the ground and stood in front of his captain. "Dude, it was like you transformed into Sakura for a moment! Being bitchy doesn't suit you at all!"

Naruto cringed and guiltily looked away. A big hand grabbed his head and forced him to look directly into Kiba's animal eyes. The brunette suddenly grinned, "But you know, apology accepted!"

And before they saw it coming, the four found themselves pressed against each other, with Kiba merrily shouting, "Group hug!"

Neji's pale eyes widened in horror. Shikamaru muttered his favourite word. And Naruto enjoyed the feeling of being surrounded by his friends. Even if they were sweaty, smelling and crushing the air out of his lungs.

And maybe the world wasn't going to end just because he would see Sasuke again. Because he had the friends he needed right here.

* * *

><p>Over the next eight weeks, though, Naruto realized that banning the thought of Sasuke from his mind was taking more and more effort with every passing day.<p>

He was filled with a restlessness he had last felt before returning to Konoha after his time with Jiraiya; before Itachi had presented to him the opportunity to hunt the Akatsuki. It had been eight weeks – _two months_ – since Itachi had told Naruto that it would only be 'some more weeks' to go after Sasuke. He was turning insane with the knowledge that every day Itachi could send for him.

Every day Naruto worked himself to the point where he could barely stand. The Kyuubi's chakra surged through his body in an increasing effort to not only heal his strained muscles, but to keep him going without the needed amount of rest and food.

His team mates' worry increased exponentially to Naruto's growing aggressiveness. They took mission after mission, each one more brutal, more bloody and more disturbing than the one before. During the last two months, they had taken more missions than in their entire time as genin.

Since they weren't going after the Akatsuki for the moment, they worked regular ANBU missions. And they learned quickly that being an ANBU was more than wearing a fancy mask.

The ANBU were the special troops, the ones who did missions that regular shinobi were either unfit for or just too soft for. It didn't matter what kind of mission it was; supposedly harmless surveillance, a quick but bloody assassination or tracking a target for days through enemy territory. The missions were always of the highest-level. And since ANBU Team Four was proving to be efficient and successful, they were sent out with hardly twenty-four hours of break in between.

Naruto never complained. His blue eyes had hardened and the boys tried their best to talk him into resting once in a while. Without them reminding their captain to eat and sleep, the blond would probably have keeled over a long time ago.

It was after an especially bloody mission, that Shikamaru decided that the way things were going needed to change. Dramatically.

They had set up camp somewhere near the northern border of Fire Country. A fire was dancing, chasing away the darkness of the forest. Everyone was either nursing their wounds or cleaning their blades.

A tense silence hung over the group. The mission had been a fail. They had been ordered to assassinate a group of rogue ninja that had raided several small villages along the borders. There had been six of the missing-nin and four of them. Usually, not a reason for the team to worry. But something had gone completely wrong.

The moment Naruto had spotted the rogue nin, he had recklessly charged in, risking a fight one against six. Even for Naruto, six jounin-level missing-nin were not easy to defeat. After the other boys had gotten over their initial shock, they had come to his aid, but two of their targets had managed to escape. Just because Naruto had completely disregarded their plans.

Shikamaru let his eyes wander over their small camp and let them rest on Neji. The Hyuuga felt the eyes on him and looked up, catching the expression on Shikamaru's face. Neji nodded and nudged Kiba on the arm with the hilt of his katana, signalling him to get up.

Kiba looked confused for a moment, before he caught on and the three closed in on their captain. The blond teen was sitting in front of the fire, unseeingly staring into the dancing flames.

Before Naruto had the time to react, the boys were upon him. They tackled him and threw him flat on the ground. Kiba and Neji held down his arms and Shikamaru straddled his hips.

Naruto's blue eyes flashed crimson in an instant, rage flickering through them, that might or might not be his own. It was hard to tell these days how much Naruto was affected by the fox demon.

"What the hell, guys?" he growled lowly, trying to get up, but stopped as he felt the sharp edge of a kunai pressed against the side of his neck.

Naruto hissed like a trapped animal, his eyes blazing.

Shikamaru stared into the demonic eyes, outwardly completely unfazed by the show of uncontrolled power. The kunai in his hands against his throat felt more than wrong, but the other boy needed to understand how serious they were about this. And the brunette doubted that they would get Naruto to listen to them otherwise. They had tried talking to him for over two months and nothing had helped.

"What the hell was that today, Naruto?" Shikamaru barked. No trace of his usual drawl in his voice.

The blond stared up at him defiantly. Shikamaru knew he wouldn't answer.

"You charged in completely recklessly! What the hell were you thinking? We had a plan and this mission only failed because of you, Naruto!"

Red eyes narrowed at the accusation.

"We let you get away with your increasingly foul mood, but we will not stand by and watch you risking your life like that!" His voice was loud now, almost shouting at the boy underneath him.

"We watch you getting worse every day, Naruto. You don't eat, you don't sleep, you don't smile. You hardly even talk! All you do is fight and kill!" The brunette sighed and tried to get his anger under control.

He shut his eyes for a moment; then spoke again, "Naruto, you are our friend, we love you and we can't watch you doing this to yourself any longer. Please... Naruto, tell us what the hell is wrong with you!"

Red eyes turned away from Shikamaru, avoiding the pleading look on his features. Naruto didn't know what to say. He didn't know what the hell he had been thinking today when he just attacked like that. He didn't know what he was doing half of the time lately. His thoughts were inexorably revolving around a certain someone...

Shikamaru pressed the kunai against his neck, making him look at him again. The genius was shouting again, exasperated with Naruto's unresponsiveness. "You've been like that ever since Itachi's last visit. Was it something he said? Naruto? What did he tell you?"

The feral eyes narrowed in anger and Shikamaru knew he had struck a nerve. "Is this.. is this about Sasuke? About the promise you made to Itachi?"

Naruto turned his head away sharply, making the sharp edge of the kunai cut his skin. He ignored the pain, welcomed it even, since it helped him to focus on something else. But Shikamaru wouldn't let him. He shook his shoulders and gabbed his chin with his free hand, forcing Naruto to face him.

Naruto glared at him, a low growl coming from his throat.

"So this is about him..." Shikamaru confirmed his own words, "You knew that you would have to face Sasuke eventually when you made that promise, Naruto. Why is it affecting you like this?"

Naruto tried to free his chin from Shikamaru's fingers, but the Nara only tightened his grip until it hurt. "Let it go, Shikamaru," Naruto hissed warningly.

"No, I won't let this go any longer, Naruto. We've been worried sick about you all this time and we deserve to know what is happening to you!" He was shouting again and the boy under him squirmed uncomfortably.

"We know that Sasuke was your best friend at one point, but why are you so afraid of seeing him again?"

The blond visibly flinched.

Shikamaru's eyes widened. "That's it," he whispered in sudden realization, "you're afraid of seeing him. You're... _scared!"_

Naruto's blood red eyes were sparkling now. Shikamaru suddenly had the feeling that maybe he had gone too far.

"What did he do to you, Naruto?" his voice was just above a whisper, unsure if he really wanted to know what had happened between the two.

The sparkling in Naruto's eyes increased and Shikamaru realized that it was caused from unshed tears. A look of concern crossed over his features and Naruto closed his eyes. Tears spilled over his face, leaving sad trails on scarred cheeks.

Kiba shot Shikamaru a panicky look as sudden sobs shook Naruto's limp body.

The kunai fell from Shikamaru's hand and he let Naruto's chin go. The others let go of his arms, shocked at the sight of their crying captain. They had never seen Naruto cry before.

Shikamaru quickly got off of him. Unsure of what to do, he exchanged a questioning glance with the others. Kiba was furiously shaking his head. The poor boy was thoroughly overwhelmed with the situation. Neji's pale eyes regarded him and he mouthed, "You caused this, you undo this!"

Shikamaru's eyes fell back on the crying blond. What had he done? He had just meant to get a reaction out of the boy. Had he expected it to be a mental break-down, he would never have pushed Naruto like that.

Hesitantly, Shikamaru reached down and pulled the sobbing teen into his arms. Naruto stiffened for a moment, but then curled up against the other's chest, burying his face in his hands.

Shikamaru patted his back, feeling rather awkward, but that was what his mother used to do when he was crying when he had been younger. "Sh," he made, meaning to soothe the blond, "I'm sorry."

"No," Naruto sniffled, "_I_ am sorry."

New sobs shook him. The boys did their best to make out Naruto's words. "I am so sorry... for worrying you and... for being such an asshole... but..."

He blubbered out incoherent words, letting out feelings that had been suppressed for probably way longer than the last two months.

Naruto was afraid. In fact, he was beyond afraid. The thought of confronting Sasuke and bringing him back to Konoha, was scaring him like nothing ever before. But the boys didn't know why. They had no idea that part of his fear stemmed from the fact that Sasuke had wanted to kill him. Naruto had no idea how Itachi planned to get Sasuke back to Konoha. The man hadn't even told him why he needed him for his plan to succeed.

Naruto just couldn't shake off the question of what would happen if they failed and Sasuke would again try to kill him? Would he be able to face Sasuke in a fight again? After their fateful battle in the Valley of the End, Naruto had hoped that he would never have to fight Sasuke to the death again. He had never wanted to fight his best friend to the death in the first place. But in the end, he hadn't been strong enough to struck him with his rasengan. While Sasuke had cold-bloodedly rammed his chidori through his chest.

He remembered the feeling of the lightning-charged attack only too well.

Shikamaru held him and Naruto was glad for the fact that he didn't press the topic again. The other boys had understood that there was more to Naruto's bad mood. They just didn't know the whole truth. They had never seen the ugly scar over Naruto's heart. Whenever he was shirtless, he put a henge over it to hide it.

The Nara kept patting his back and stroking his hair. Naruto almost didn't catch the other's words through his own snivelling. "We're here for you, Naru. He won't hurt you again."

It was unnecessary to mention who 'he' was.

Naruto eventually fell asleep and Shikamaru and Neji lifted him up and placed him on his bedroll. Three heavy sighs were heard after Naruto was put to rest. The three brunettes shared a look. They had not expected their fierce captain to break down like that. They felt guilty, but also relieved that Naruto had – even if involuntarily – opened up to them.

* * *

><p>After three hours of travelling the next morning, Akamaru suddenly barked a warning. A second later, Neji raised his hand to indicate that he had seen something with his Byakugan.<p>

The team stopped, Naruto looked at Neji, expectantly.

"There is a clearing, approximately two miles from here, Naruto-taichou. Someone is waiting there, it seems," the Hyuuga explained what he saw.

"Can you tell who it is?" Naruto asked.

"No, not yet."

Naruto pondered the new information for a moment. Then he shrugged and waved for the others to follow. As long as they didn't know who it was, they couldn't say if it was friend or foe.

As they came closer, Naruto got the vague feeling that he had felt that chakra before. They stopped a safe distance away from the person and waited.

Naruto felt Neji tense behind him. The Hyuuga bent forward a bit and whispered into his ear. "It's Kabuto," he said, having seen through the man's cloak with his Byakugan. How had the man found them? And how did he know that the four masked ANBU were indeed Naruto and his team?

Naruto frowned, but then his initial surprise gave way to anger. The spy was Orochimaru's right hand. He was one of the people, who had made Sasuke defect. Whatever he wanted, it couldn't be good.

An eerie chuckle broke the silence and they heard Kabuto's sly voice call out. "Good morning, Naruto-kun. It's a pleasure to see you again."

Naruto growled at him for calling him Naruto-kun. "What do you want?" he yelled back, a hand already over his shoulder, on the hilt of his katana.

"Oh, not so fast, Naruto-kun," the missing-nin chuckled, "I just want to talk to you."

"I'm not interested in whatever you have to say," Naruto declared.

"Oh, but you should," he called back. "Come closer, Naruto-kun. I won't hurt you."

"No," Shikamaru hissed at his captain. The blond looked at him through the slits of his Weasel mask. "He's just trying to fool you. He will try to kill you the first chance he gets," the Nara insisted.

Naruto took his mask off. Shikamaru rolled his eyes, exasperated. "What are you doing, Naru? You can't trust him."

"Geez, Shika," Naruto said, "Of course, I don't trust him. But I'm curious. Why did he make the effort to find us? I want to know what he wants."

Naruto tossed his mask and back pouch to Shikamaru. If it came to a fight, the pouch would hinder him and since Kabuto knew who he was, he didn't need to wear the mask. "You stay here. Don't interfere unless I give you a sign," he ordered and started walking towards Kabuto.

The boys watched their friend anxiously, not at all happy, but also knowing that Naruto was able to defend himself. They saw Kabuto pushing back his hood. His lips moved, but the two were too far away to make out any words.

"Can you hear them, Kiba?" Shikamaru asked.

The Inuzuka shook his head. "No, they are too far away and the wind is too loud. I don't know what's happening."

Their eyes never left the two figures. A few minutes passed. Then they saw Naruto take a step backwards, unsheathing his katana. He clenched his fists around the hilt.

"Something is wrong," Neji said quietly. "Naruto's chakra is going crazy." His Byakugan could clearly discern the red of the demon's chakra running through the teen's body, pushing aside the light blue of his own chakra.

As if on cue, all three felt an incredible increase in Naruto's power. They stared wide-eyed, as three red tails formed behind his back in an instant; a furiously bubbling mass of visible energy.

"What the..." Kiba breathed, eyes darting between his captain and Kabuto. The man was still talking. Whatever he was telling Naruto was seriously pissing him off for him to go from zero to _three _tails like that.

They had never seen the Kyuubi's chakra manifest this quickly. Three tails meant danger. They had never seen more than three tails. And Jiraiya had told them they didn't want to see it; _ever_.

"We need to intervene, before he loses control," Shikamaru urged, already searching for the chakra suppression sealing tags in his pockets.

They ran towards the two figures at the end of the large clearing.

Naruto had thrown away his sword, crouching low on all fours on the ground. He was baring his foxy canines at the man in front of him, a terrifying snarl on his face, tails swinging restlessly.

"You're lying!" They heard Naruto yell at Kabuto, his voice deeper than normal, rawer, influenced by the Kyuubi.

"I am not and you know it," Kabuto said, sounding way too pleased with himself. He spread his arms in a gesture that should probably emphasize the truth of his words. He seemed completely unfazed by the fact that Naruto was about to go berserk in Jinchuuriki mode.

Neji stopped the others with a sign of his hand. They were only a few feet away from Naruto now. He pointed at their captain and the others hissed.

The aggressive red chakra was slowly dissolving the boy's skin and clothes. Naruto's face was a mask of pure rage and anguish, mixed with pain from what was obviously happening to him. Shreds of skin were burnt, revealing the rosy muscles and blood vessels underneath. Droplets of blood rose from his body, mixing with the evil chakra around him.

Neji charged forward, a sealing tag in his hand. But before he could get too close to Naruto, he flicked his three tails, keeping Neji away from him. Neji dodged a swinging tail, but was forced to stop his advance. Naruto's head snapped around, looking at his three team mates through crimson eyes.

"_Run_!" a voice, thick with raw power, snapped warningly.

Before they could react, Naruto's chakra _exploded._

The boys were thrown over by the sheer force of the chakra blast. They skidded over the grassy ground until they finally found enough footing to stop themselves. They stood up on shaky knees, afraid of what they were going to see next.

Shikamaru lifted his head. His eyes fell on the small crater around Naruto; created only by the eruption of the Kyuubi's power.

Three pairs of eyes widened in horror, as the fourth tail manifested, all resemblances to the blond boy completely gone.

* * *

><p><strong>Well... I guess this can be considered a cliff hanger! What did Kabuto tell Naruto? And what is going to happen now that he manifested four tails?<strong>

**So many questions :P You will find out in the next chapter!**

**I know that Naruto seems a bit weak-willed maybe at the end of this chapter, concerning his fear of Sasuke, but if I imagine myself to be in his situation (which I will very obviously never be, for various reasons), I think that his being scared of the confrontation with Sasuke is only human. And he still is only human, even if my Naruto is a bit more badass and more serious than canon-Naruto. But also let me tell you, that once Naruto sees Sasuke again, things will... change... That's all I say for now ;)**

**Next chapter will hopefully be up soon!**

**Once again, I'd love to hear your opinions!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**xXHaneliXx**


	15. Chapter 15 Part One

**The author says: **Hello everyone! Thanks to all the reviewers! This fic has now exactly 100 reviews! :) While I like this round number, I know we can do more than that ;)

**Some words to this chapter! **Okay, so I needed to put a lot of new information and character development into this chapter. And it turned out to have _over 20k words_! Over 40 pages on word. It's insane. I never intended for it to be so long. But even after deleting over four pages of emotional insight to Naruto, it's still pretty long. **So I had to divide the chapter into two parts! I don't want to make you read almost 20k words in one chapter, since I myself wouldn't appreciate such a length at all.**

**BUT! I promised you guys that in chapter 16 Sasuke and Naruto would finally meet. So do you see my predicament?** Since I split this chapter up, chapter 16 will now be the second part of this chapter... So I will have to break my promise to you. That is why I will upload the second part of chapter 15 not as the official 'Chapter 16', but as 'Chapter 15 – Part 2'! Tricky, right? ;) Well, not really. Just proofreading the first 11k words took me _over 5 hours!_

_Okay, long apology, but I hope you forgive me, my faithful readers!_

Also, I have yet another exam in two weeks, so I don't really have all that much time to write.

And now, please enjoy the first part of Chapter 15! And leave me a comment ;)

**I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

><p><strong>'He had no idea'<strong>

**Chapter 15 – Part One**

* * *

><p><em><strong>All alone<strong>_

_**even when I was a child**_

_**I've always known**_

_**there was something to be frightened of **_

_**And I can see it coming from the edge of the room**_

_**creeping in the street light**_

_**holding my hand in the pale gloom**_

_**can you see it coming now **_

_**I think I'm breaking down again**_

_**I think I'm breaking down again**_

_**- **_**'Breaking Down' by Florence and The Machine**

* * *

><p><em>An eerie chuckle broke the silence and they heard Kabuto's sly voice call out, "Good morning, Naruto-kun. It's a pleasure to see you again."<em>

_Naruto growled at Kabuto for calling him _Naruto-kun_. "What do you want?" he yelled back, a hand already reaching upwards over his shoulder, to the hilt of his katana._

_"Oh, not so fast, Naruto-kun," the missing-nin chuckled. "I just want to talk to you."_

_"I'm not interested in whatever you have to say," Naruto declared._

_"Oh, but you should be," he called back. "Come closer, Naruto-kun. I won't hurt you."_

_"No," Shikamaru hissed at his captain. The blond looked at the other through the slits of his Weasel mask. "He's just trying to fool you. He will try to kill you the first chance he gets," the Nara insisted._

_Naruto took his mask off. Shikamaru rolled his eyes, exasperated. "What are you doing, Naru? You can't trust him."_

_"Geez, Shika," Naruto said, "Of course, I don't trust him. But I'm curious. Why did he make the effort to find us? I want to know what he wants."_

_He tossed his mask and back pouch to Shikamaru. If it came to a fight, the pouch would hinder him and since Kabuto knew who he was, he didn't need to wear the mask. "You stay here. Don't interfere unless I give you a sign," Naruto ordered his team and started walking towards Kabuto._

Naruto knew he was getting out of hearing range to his team mates, but they were still close enough to back him up. He wondered what Kabuto had planned. And he was sure that the man indeed had a plan.

Naruto stopped some feet away from Kabuto and studied his face. Naruto hadn't seen the man for over three years, but there were strange-looking changes on him. These weren't changes one acquired due to ageing or in a natural way.

His features looked somehow sharper, the shape of his eyes more defined and... did he have slitted pupils? Naruto immediately was reminded of Orochimaru, the resemblance to the man's former master was so great.

His skin was paler and there was a light purple colour around his eyes. "What's up with the new look? Are you playing dress up?" Naruto smirked teasingly, "Looks like you miss your master a tad too much!"

Kabuto only smiled his creepy smile and spread his arms, "Naruto-kun, still a loud-mouth, I see."

The boy snorted, letting Kabuto assume whatever he wanted. Better he underestimated him.

"But no," the former spy continued, "I'm not _dressing up_ as you so nicely put it. In fact, let me tell you a secret." He lowered his voice as if he really was letting the boy in on some huge secret. "I absorbed my master's body cells, you see. The visible changes are not the only ones, Naruto-kun."

He cocked his head in a way that looked so much like Orochimaru that Naruto believed him instantly. But absorbing Orochimaru's cells? Did that mean that the criminal was still alive? Sort of? But Sasuke had killed him.

"I can see the questions on your face, Naruto-kun. Let me enlighten you," Kabuto offered benevolently. "Rest assured that the Orochimaru you knew was killed by our precious Sasuke-kun. But my master's cells live _in me_ now. And I turned into the ultimate version of his techniques and my healthy body."

"So you let the snaky bastard possess you?" Naruto questioned, decidedly ignoring the jibe on Sasuke.

Kabuto chuckled. "No, Orochimaru-sama is not possessing me, but rather living on in me. He doesn't control me or my actions. I only absorbed his strength and skills."

Naruto pondered his words for a moment and came to the conclusion that he had no idea why the other man was telling him all this. So he asked.

"Oh, you see, Naruto-kun, I came here for a reason today. Showing you my new self was not the main intention, though."

His slick smile vanished and his face turned serious. "I'd like to make you an offer. Or rather, the man I am working with now, would like to make you an offer."

"The man you're working with? Still not a free man, Kabuto? I thought that after being Orochimaru's henchman for so long you would start being your own master. And what could you possibly offer me? You don't have anything of interest for me," Naruto answered coolly, despite becoming a bit suspicious.

The grey-haired missing-nin chuckled lowly. "I _am _my own master now, don't misunderstand, Naruto-kun. But sometimes you have to join forces if you're aiming for world domination."

Naruto blinked stupidly. World domination? Was that a joke? But somehow he had the sinking feeling that the man in front of him was not joking at all.

"Aren't you aiming a bit high?" Naruto scoffed, "I mean, seriously, _world domination_? Isn't that what every villain is dreaming of?"

A mocking smile spread over Kabuto's lips and the way he looked at him made Naruto feel as if he was pitying him. He seemed to be completely in earnest about his plans. And Kabuto felt sorry for him that he didn't see the great scheme.

"This is not a mere dream, Naruto-kun. It's the future."

Naruto stared, trying to keep the incredulity he felt from showing on his face.

"And we want you to be part of that future."

Naruto's eyes widened. Incredulity showing. But he must have misunderstood. They wanted him to _join_? Seriously? Was Kabuto after the Kyuubi, just like the Akatsuki? At least, Kabuto was asking, instead of trying to rip the demon from his core.

A mirthless laughter erupted from his throat, surprising both himself and the man in front of him.

"Why the hell would I join you?" Naruto asked in pure disbelief, amusement plain on his features.

Kabuto's smile had vanished completely. He didn't share hsi obvious amusement. "Because we offer you the truth."

Naruto's laughter stilled and he cocked his head at him. "The truth? What kind of truth should I expect from a traitor?"

Kabuto didn't react to the jibe, but kept staring at the blond intently. "The truth, which everyone is keeping from you; everyone you consider your precious people."

The amusement faded from Naruto's face. His eyes narrowed. What the hell was the criminal talking about? "I'm not interested in your lies, traitor. I won't join you, so let's end this game!"

Naruto unsheathed his katana in a fluid motion, widening his stance to be ready to attack. But the man in front of him made no move.

Kabuto sighed. "You're not making this easy for me, Naruto-kun. But since I came here to make you an offer, I feel compelled to tell you the truth. It might... _change your perspective_ a bit." His thin lips curled up in a devious smirk.

"Frankly, Naruto-kun, I never expected you to join us, but my new... partner... suggested I should still ask you nicely. But since you so harshly refuse, I will tell you another secret. A secret that may make our offer more appealing to you."

Naruto stared at him with hard eyes. His head told him he should just attack and not listen to the man's sly words. But what made Kabuto think that he should listen to him? And why did he think it would make him change his mind? Naruto would never join Kabuto and this new partner.

Gripping his katana tighter, he waited for the other to go on.

Seeing the scowl on the blond's face, Kabuto knew he had the boy's attention. "I see you're willing to listen now. Very well, then be prepared to hear of a truth, that was kept from you since your birth."

Naruto's heart rate quickened. His head kept yelling at him to just attack, but he wanted to hear this. So he remained silent. A shiver of dread ran up his spine and an uneasy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach, as he heard the man's next words.

"Naruto-kun, have you ever wondered who your parents are?"

What kind of question was that? Of course he had. Countless times, just like probably every other orphan besides him.

Not waiting for an answer, the missing-nin went on, "What did they tell you, Naruto-kun? About your parents?"

Without meaning to, Naruot heard himself reply, "They probably died during the Kyuubi attack, no one knows who they were."

"I say that's not the truth. Tell me, Naruto-kun, what do you think is more cruel? To seal a demon inside of an orphaned boy without parents? Or to seal it inside _your own son_?"

"What are you saying?" the blond snapped angrily. Sealing a demon in one's son? The Yondaime had sealed the Kyuubi inside _him_. Because he had been the only new-born that day. He had been the only possible vessel. Or so the Sandaime had explained it to him after his former teacher had told him the truth about the Kyuubi being sealed insider of him.

"You're not making the connection yet. I'm saying that it was _your father_, who turned you into a Jinchuuriki."

Involuntarily, Naruto's blue eyes grew wider and wider, as he listened to words that he should know better than to believe. Kabuto had always had a quick tongue. Why was he believing his words now?

He talked about a father Naruto had never known, a man considered a hero in his village. A mother, whose fiery temper he had inherited. The man didn't stop at that, but told the blond about the people, who had known the truth about his parentage.

Naruto's head was swirling, logic seemed to elude him. Blond hair, Kabuto was saying. No one else had hair that bright and yellow. Only Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage. And his son.

Naruto didn't even feel the red chakra freeing itself of its confines in his mind. His barriers were low, weakened by what he was hearing. A movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. His team mates. Why were they looking so distressed?

But his head snapped back around, fixing the grey-haired traitor.

"You're lying!" his own voice yelled, thick with wavering conviction and raw from the Kyuubi's influence.

"I am not and you know it," Kabuto said, sounding way too pleased with himself. He spread his arms in a gesture, that should probably emphasize the truth of his words. "_I_ am not the person that lied to you. But _everyone else_ did."

The grey-haired criminal studied Naruto's changing appearance with great interest. He marvelled at how fast the demon's chakra was gathering around the teen's body. Three tails had formed behind his back, swinging angrily. He had thrown away his katana; but his wide eyes told him that maybe the boy wasn't aware of what was going on.

"Join us, Naruto-kun. Because we don't keep the truth from you. Surely, you don't want to go back to a village full of people, who betrayed you."

That got a reaction from Naruto. _Betrayed. _This word. How he _hated_ it and the emotions that came with it. But truly, wasn't it just another form of betrayal? Keeping this truth from him that would have changed his life completely?

Naruto was filled with a certainty that life would have treated him better, if the villagers had known whose son they were beating up and staring at with hateful eyes. No one would have dared doing all those awful things to the son of the Yondaime, the greatest shinobi Konoha had ever known.

By keeping that knowledge from him, they had ruined his childhood. They had influenced it as much as the Kyuubi sealed in his guts. But had they really known? Tsunade-baachan, Ero-Sennin? Kakashi? The Saindaime? Everyone he had ever trusted?

_**Everyone knew, **_a deep voice whispered in the back of Naruto's mind. **_But no one told you. They _betrayed_ you. It is right to feel angry. Come, Uzumaki._**

Naruto closed his eyes. The next instant, he found himself standing in front of the Kyuubi's cage. The demon's huge eyes looked down at him intently.

"Did you know?" Naruto asked, weak, defeated.

_**Of course, I did.**_ Satisfaction swung in the fox's voice, mixed with amusement about the pain on his vessel's face.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked louder, fuelled by his rising anger.

_**You never asked, human, **_the fox said lazily. **_But now you know, and I can feel the rage in you. I can feel that you want to destroy them. Come, Uzumaki, together we will eliminate them all. They won't lie to you again!_**

Naruto's knees gave in and he sank down into the dirty water of his sewer-like mindscape. The fox cackled above him, looming over him like the beast he was. His eyes glowed ominously in the darkness.

The Kyuubi's words lulled Naruto in, with promises of killing his enemies and slaying all betrayers.

The water around him began to bubble. His hand reached out, trying to diffuse the rising steam. But his will was too weak. He fell face-first into the water.

Pain exploded throughout his body.

The Kyuubi's roar filled the cage, triumphing. He was in control.

* * *

><p>Kabuto stared at the blond boy. Something was happening to him, but he was not yet sure of what it was. Naruto seemed too absent-minded, not reacting to his words at all. He had crouched low, on all fours. A snarl was on his face and his slitted red eyes were sparkling with rage and hatred.<p>

Being the medic-nin he was, Kabuto smelled the blood before he saw it. Then he saw the flaking skin on the teen's hands and face, the crimson droplets that rose into the air, mixing with the chakra around him.

He was fascinated by the sight. He had never seen anything like this. His schooled eyes took in all the small changes, storing them away for later.

"So this is the Kyuubi's power," Kabuto murmured to himself, readjusting his glasses with a push of his finger. "No wonder everyone is trying to obtain it."

The grey-haired man saw Naruto's team mates approach, but stopping in shocked awe at the sight of their captain's transformation. They looked not nearly as fascinated as him, but rather appalled and worried.

In that moment, the blond's eyes tore away from him and focused on the three boys with something akin to lucidity. Naruto snapped out a warning, but it was too late.

Kabuto was flung away from the shock wave of Naruto's exploding power. He scrambled to his feet, unwilling to miss the smallest detail of the transformation.

But even Kabuto had not counted on what he was seeing now. In front of him, way too close for his liking now, crouched a miniature Kyuubi. Four tails of raw chakra clawed at the earth behind him. The force of his chakra had created a crater and a circle of destruction.

Far away, Kabuto saw Naruto's team mates get to their feet.

But he did not have any time to be distracted, since the demon, that had minutes before been a blond boy, was attacking.

* * *

><p>"Shit..." Kiba breathed, not daring to take his eyes off the scene a safe distance away. Or maybe not safe enough, since all his sharpened senses were screaming at him to get the hell out of here and not to turn around for at least several hours of running straight into the opposite direction.<p>

"I fear to hear what Kabuto said to trigger such a reaction..." Shikamaru muttered, adding a heart-felt "Troublesome."

Neji didn't envy Kabuto right now. He even felt the slightest tad of pity for the man. But the missing-nin had brought it upon himself.

Akamaru was whimpering openly, not caring whether any of the guys was calling him a coward. But since he was a dog, his instincts were acting up as much as his master's, and he would have been glad to give in to the urge to flee from the scene.

However, the three boys plus dog didn't leave the clearing-turned-crater. Judging from the way Naruto's whole body had transformed into the mini-Kyuubi – that was still not mini enough for the guys' liking – the blond himself was probably in as much danger as Kabuto.

So far, the criminal was dealing surprisingly well for the fact that he was battling a furious demon that was at least twice his size. He dodged and jumped, swirling so quickly that even under Neji's watchful Byakugan, he was hardly a blur.

But while Kabuto at least was a blur, Naruto moved at an inhuman speed. Had Neji not known better, he would have said the boy was using some teleportation jutsu. But the ability to use any jutsus seemed to have left him entirely in his current form.

The red chakra fox attacked Kabuto relentlessly, clawing at him with elongated arms, snapping at him with pointed canines.

But even Kabuto couldn't stand this brute force for too long.

Naruto's tails swiped him off his feet and he hit the earth with a painful grunt. Naruto's chakra arms grabbed his foot, pulling the man closer to his opened jaw.

The four tails were raised high above Naruto's head. Bubbling chakra was gathering at the tips, melting together into a dense, black ball; glowing red and black. The feeling coming from it was more than chilling. Whatever the Kyuubi was doing, Kabuto had no chance of surviving this attack.

With a nod of his head, Shikamaru told the others to get moving. They raced towards their captain, counting on the fact that his beast-form was too absorbed in killing his prey, to notice their advance.

Shikamaru stopped and got down on one knee, hands clasped together in an all-familiar seal. His shadow moved, lengthened, reaching for the fox demon.

Chakra suppression sealing tags in their hands, Neji and Kiba ran at the chakra best, ready to attach the seals on the body and stop this madness.

But the Kyuubi's senses were sharper than a dog's and quicker than the Byakugan. A tail threw Kiba to the side, leaving him gasping for air. Another tail went for Neji, but as the tail connected with the Hyuuga's body, Neji's form burst into smoke and a log was left in his stead.

The real Neji advanced from the other side, throwing himself carelessly onto the demon's form. A tail struck him across his face, leaving a red mark on his cheek and the stinging smell of burning flesh.

Only then did Shikamaru manage to trap the demon in his Shadow Binding Technique. The beast stopped moving, trying to shake off the jutsu.

But the seal was successfully attached to the mini-Kyuubi's chest.

The effect was immediate. Red chakra dissolved, energy reshaping and rebuilding the shape of a human body. Skin mended over and hair grew back.

Crimson, slitted eyes returned to their too-blue colour, glazed over, feverish.

Kabuto's lifeless body fell from Naruto's arms and his head snapped around. He flinched in pain.

Everything hurt, hurt, _hurt_.

Naruto lifted a hand and stared in shocked awe at skin, that began re-covering the exposed muscles of his fingers.

The metallic taste of blood was on his tongue. A wave of exhaustion hit him and he felt his stomach churn.

A well-meant hand landed carefully on his shoulder, but the soft touch send hot spikes of pain racing through his body. The blond recoiled from the contact just to bend over and empty his stomach on the earthy ground.

The sounds of his retching filled the eerie silence hanging over the clearing.

Shikamaru and Kiba exchanged a worried glance over Naruto's head. Neji approached from the other direction, limping slightly, a slash of burnt skin on his once flawless cheek.

Shikamaru crouched next to the younger boy, but refrained from touching him this time. "Naruto?" he asked in a whisper, not yet sure whether the danger had passed.

Despite the situation, Shikamaru felt his cheeks heat up as he got closer to the other boy. The transformation into a raw chakra form had completely vaporized Naruto's clothes and left behind an exposed, naked young man.

The seal, that held the Kyuubi, was glowing reddish on his tan skin. It faded quietly, as the demon was fully suppressed.

If Naruto had already registered the fact that he was naked, he didn't show.

And indeed, he hadn't. The pain was almost overwhelming. Darkness danced around the edges of his vision and Kabuto's words tormented him. His thoughts were a mush of betrayal and lies. Like before, logic eluded him. Too uncertain were the facts he had been handed by a man he considered his main enemy, right after the Akatsuki.

"Have you known?" Naruto croaked through a raw throat. Paranoia rising within him.

"Known what, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked hesitantly.

The blond head was lifted with visible effort to meet his eyes. "About my father," he said, stronger this time. New fury was boiling inside him.

Shikamaru's eyes darted to Neji, then to Kiba. Both shook their head, having no idea what their captain was asking.

"Your father?" Shikamaru prompted cautiously, inching closer to his friend on his knees.

A haunted look crossed through the blue eyes and the brunette felt a pang at the pain and insecurity he found. Shikamaru opened his mouth to say something, anything, but Naruto suddenly jumped to his feet, a snarl on his lips.

"Don't _lie_ to me!" he screamed, a hint of something disturbingly close to insanity in his voice.

The savage expression on Naruto's face faded, as he swayed on his feet. Cut off from his chakra, and after what had just happened, his body was finally forcing him to rest. His eyes rolled back into his head and he fell over – straight into the waiting arms of his team mate.

Neji swiftly caught the unconscious captain and rested him down on his back. Shikamaru was with him in an instant, taking off his cloak and spreading it over Naruto's body. He pulled the dark cloth up to the other boy's chin, when something caught his attention.

There, on Naruto's tanned skin, was a scar. Of course, as an active shinobi, Naruto's body was littered with scars. Small lines from cuts and stabs, some bigger, some smaller than others. All a tad lighter than the rest of his skin.

But this scar was bigger than the rest and oddly shaped. Almost like... _a star, maybe?_ The edges were rough and judging from his knowledge about scars, the Nara would say that it was already some years old.

But what really caught his attention, was the scar's closeness to Naruto's heart. The ugly patch of scar tissue was located on the blond's left chest, just over the breastbone. They had seen Naruto shirtless countless times already during training or at the hot springs. So Shikamaru found it rather odd that he had never seen this scar before. Was Naruto usually putting a henge over it? But why?

"Judging from the scar tissue and the size of it, this wound should have been fatal," Neji's calm voice cut through the silence. "Turn him over," he said to Shikamaru. "I want to check something."

Shikamaru looked at his team mate for a moment. Deciding that Neji, being the only one of them, who had been trained as a medic-nin, seemed to have a suspicion, Shikamaru gently turned the unconscious blond onto his side.

Neji saw his suspicion confirmed as his eyes fell on an almost identical scar right under Naruto's left shoulder blade. Shikamaru gritted his teeth and turned Naruto back on his back.

Kiba blinked, shocked from their discovery. "Geez, something went straight through his chest!"

Neji nodded and said quietly, "This should have been fatal, whatever it was. It is probably thanks to his improved healing abilities that he is still alive."

"The scar on his back is a bit smaller, so the attack came from in front of him," Shikamaru provided, leaving all of them pondering what could have caused such an injury.

"B-But," Kiba stammered, "who would want to kill Naruto? He's never been in a fight to the death!"

"Do we know that for sure?" Shikamaru interjected, still studying the scar on Naruto's chest.

His genius mind was working, piecing together the information he had. He had a suspicion and thinking about what had transpired the evening before, the Nara was pretty sure he had an idea of just who Naruto had fought to the death.

And suddenly it all made sense to him. Naruto's fear of seeing Sasuke again. The hatred he claimed to feel for Sasuke for his betrayal and leaving. But this went deeper than just leaving Naruto behind. Apparently, Sasuke had really tried to kill his best friend. No wonder, Naruto was acting so erratic. The increasing irritation about a promise he had made to Itachi.

_What have you done, Sasuke?_

Akamaru barked loudly and Shikamaru hurried to pull the cloak up to Naruto's chin. He turned and his brown eyes fell on yet another note-worthy thing. The corpse, which was supposed to be Kabuto, _wasn't_ Kabuto.

The body lying on the earthy floor, was not the grey-haired man Naruto had initially fought. It showed the right signs of attack; wounds, that were undoubtedly inflicted by feral claws and fangs. But the corpse's hair was not grey but a light brown, and it didn't show the snaky similarities to Orochimaru around the eyes.

"Did he get away?" Kiba asked incredulously.

"And why leave a corpse in his place?" the Nara drawled. "It seems like the real Kabuto never showed up in person. An interesting technique."

Neji studied the corpse with his Byakugan and checked it with his hands, but there was no doubt. This man had never been Kabuto. But somehow he had looked like the criminal and even Neji's skilful eyes had not detected the jutsu before.

They disposed of the dead body ANBU-style and inspected the rest of the clearing, trying to leave behind as few traces as possible. Which proved to be rather difficult, seeing how Naruto had turned the surrounding trees and grasses to dust.

Two hours later, Naruto had still not woken up, so the three decided to get moving. As it came to the question of who of them was going to dress Naruto properly in the cloak and carry the half-naked teen afterwards, they turned to the good old game rock-paper-scissors.

Neji came out as the loser. The pale-eyed teen wrapped his blond captain in Shikamaru's cloak as decently as possible and lifted him in his arms. They didn't dare to put him on Akamaru's back, since they would be forced to secure him on the dog somehow. And they didn't know whether Naruto was still hurting.

They had been running for three hours, when Naruto finally began to stir in the Hyuuga's arms. He gave a small signal and the others stopped. He put Naruto to the ground, carefully cradling the blond's head in the crook of his arm.

Deeming it safe now, Neji opened the dark cloak just enough to remove the sealing tag from its place under Naruto's right collarbone, where he had aimlessly placed it in the struggle before.

* * *

><p>The shadowless blackness of unconsciousness slowly lifted. But when Naruto opened his eyes, he found himself in front of the Kyuubi's cage.<p>

A malicious smile was on the fox's face, clearly enjoying his vessel's anguish and confusion. The blond shook his head to free himself of the last remnants of numbness. He remembered standing in a clearing, confronting Kabuto... And his lies... which he claimed to be true.

Some talk about his parents and betrayal of his precious people... Then the Kyuubi, offering his help to kill everything in his wake, to erase all lies and truths.

What had happened after he had fallen to his knees in front of the fox? Naruto racked his brain for any memory, but there was none. Frightened, he looked up at the demon.

"What happened?" he croaked miserably. Too miserably, because he felt the demon's eyes light up with joy at seeing his depression, his denial.

_**I killed your enemy for you, Uzumaki,**_ the demon said, almost gently, as if indeed he had helped him.

_My enemy? Kabuto..._ "You killed Kabuto?"

_**No, **_**we ****_killed him. Together, we slew him and made him stop telling lies. That's what you wanted, wasn't it?_**

Kabuto was dead? Then why didn't he remember killing him? And had he wanted to kill him? Of course, he had. Naruto couldn't deny that. _I should be glad that the man is dead._

Another thought came back to him. He had asked the fox whether he had known about his parents. "You knew!" Naruto accused him, pointing an angry finger at the beast that was easily twenty times his size.

An evil but amused cackle was his answer. _**Foolish human, how could I forget the man, that sealed me inside of you? I will never cease to hate him.**_

"Why didn't you tell me? It would have changed so much!" Naruto said weakly.

The demon snorted. _**You are making a vital mistake, little human. For some unknown reason you assume that I have any interest in helping you. Didn't you hear my words? Your father was the one, who put me in this misery.**_

What was Naruto to believe? A traitor, a demon? Naruto truly wished he wouldn't believe them, but after what they had said, it was just so... obvious...

Still, there was this tiny, oh so tiny, spark of hope left in him. That maybe Tsunade and Jiraiya had not known about his parentage... And Kakashi and the Sandaime neither...

He furiously tried to hold onto that last beacon of hope; because if his precious people had known... that would mean... another betrayal... _that makes it three,_ he scoffed in his mind.

The Kyuubi looked at him with great interest. Oh, how the demon loved to see his human container so close to tears, so close to giving control over to him again. At least he was able to invade his thoughts again, now that the pale-eyed human had removed that annoying sealing tag that had suppressed his chakra.

Clinging to that small, hopeful thought, Naruto slowly returned to reality.

His body still hurt from turning into a mini-Kyuubi. He forced his heavy eyelids open to stare at the pale eyes of his team mate. He blinked a few times to get rid of the blurry vision.

His eyes fell on the ugly red streak on Neji's cheek. "What happened?" Naruto whispered.

Neji avoided the blue eyes and just said it happened after the fight with Kabuto. Naruto swallowed uneasily, not knowing that he had caused the older teen's injury. Neji had already healed it as best as he could, but the wound caused by the demonic chakra wasn't healing as expected.

"Kabuto is dead?" Naruto asked, looking for confirmation of the Kyuubi's words.

"No," Shikamaru said, kneeling down next to the blond in Neji's arms. "He used some replacement technique. You never fought the real him in the first place."

Oh. So he and the Kyuubi hadn't really killed Kabuto.

"Naru..." Shikamaru said softly. "What happened? What did Kabuto tell you?"

The boy closed his eyes as Kabuto's taunting words flashed through his mind. Kami, how much he hated that man. What had he actually achieved by telling him 'the truth' as he had called it? Had the man really been trying to make him join him and his partner in their crazy goal of gaining world domination?

Naruto would never turn his back on his precious people! _Not like Sasuke!_

_**You wouldn't? Even now that you know how they lied to you all those years? Pretending you were just one more unlucky orphan?**_

"Leave me alone!" Naruto ordered the demon, trying to shut him out. The pain in his chest was making it hard to breathe. Kami, how he hated that ever-present, constricting feeling.

_**Can you really go back to a village full of liars and deceivers? What else didn't they tell you, human? Do they really deserve your loyalty?**_

"Shut up!" he forced out, gritting his teeth. He clenched his fists tightly, nails biting deeply into the palms of his hands.

_**Maybe you should really go with that Kabuto. At least, he was not telling you lies. And who knows, Uzumaki? Maybe your team mates knew, too. Lying, deceiving! Betrayers!**_

"SHUT UP!" Naruto screamed shrilly, so unlike him that the three males pinned him down to the ground.

Naruto was panting with the effort to shut the Kyuubi out of his mind. "Sealing tag!" he gasped, in a new fight for control over his body.

Even though his eyes were closed, he could tell by the slight tingling behind his eyeballs that his pupils had once again turned to slits.

A hand slammed into Naruto's forehead and his head hit the ground hard, despite Neji's protecting arm around hsi shoulders. But Naruto had never welcomed the feeling of the demon's chakra being forced out of his system more than in this moment. Naruto felt the Kyuubi's power leave him, receding into the confines of his mental prison.

Sadly, the swirl of confused anger and painful betrayal stayed behind. The fox's last words were burnt into his mind, as if he was repeating them all over again. Paranoid, Naruto's eyes snapped open and landed on his team mates.

Had they known? Was the Kyuubi right? Was everyone lying to him?

He tasted hehisr own blood on his tongue as he bit his lip in order to keep himself from lashing out at them.

_They couldn't have known. Impossible, _the blond tried to convince himself. But the paranoid suspicion was there, created by sly words and devious grins.

The blond hugged himself, only then realizing that he was only wearing a cloak and nothing underneath. Thanks to his inner turmoil, Naruto didn't even blush.

As if reading his mind, Kiba threw his back pouch onto the earth next to him. There was a storage scroll with a set of spare clothes. His team mates walked away a bit, allowing him some privacy. Naruto dressed quickly, but threw the cloak back on. He found his ANBU Weasel mask and was glad that he had taken it off before going berserk in Jinchuuriki mode. The mask would probably have been destroyed as well.

He walked over to the guys and Kiba handed his captain his katana and the rest of his equipment. Naruto was glad for the familiar shadow the hood cast over his face. The mask was covering his scowling face and burning eyes.

With a small gesture, Naruto allowed Kiba and Akamaru to take the lead.

No one said a word.

* * *

><p>After two straining days, ANBU Team Naruto finally arrived back in Konoha. But Neji wished they had never gotten here.<p>

He had watched his captain the whole time since the encounter with Kabuto. He had never seen the blond so tense and jumpy. Naruto hadn't spoken more than absolutely necessary, refused food and slept for barely two hours a night.

Neji didn't need his famous eyes to tell that something was utterly wrong. First, the breakdown three evenings ago, and then, the confrontation with Kabuto. They still had no clue what had passed between the two.

But the Hyuuga dreaded the moment they sat foot into Konoha. To him, Naruto was like a volcano right now. Something was seething deep inside him, waiting for the right moment to break free. And Neji could tell that they wouldn't like to witness that eruption.

Naruto had taken off the chakra suppression seal only yesterday. From time to time, they heard him mumbling to himself, in a conversation they had no part in. Neji had the suspicion that it was the Kyuubi talking to him. Remembering how Naruto had freaked out after he had regained consciousness two days ago, Neji was sure that the fox must be telling him things Naruto didn't want to hear.

Since the removal of the sealing tag, Naruto had become somewhat calmer, as if he had withdrawn into himself. Or maybe he was just listening to the fox?

They reached the gates and were waved through immediately. Their masks and chakra signatures were well-known to all guards by now.

Their captain headed straight for the Hokage Tower. Unsure whether they were supposed to follow, the three guys shared a look and quietly trailed behind the blond.

* * *

><p>Naruto meanwhile, fought an inner battle of staying in control. It had never felt so physically exhausting to hold back his inner demon. He almost laughed at that. The Kyuubi was certainly not his only inner demon.<p>

He dreaded the coming confrontation with Tsunade. He was still clinging to the hope that no one had known about his parents, desperately talking back to the Kyuubi's more convincing whispers.

_**You're in denial, Uzumaki.**_

Naruto ignored him. He would have his answers soon.

Like usual, Naruto ignored the fact that there was a proper entrance to the tower somewhere and came to stop in front of the window. He felt the presence of his team mates behind him, but that, too, was ignored right now.

He had to knock since the window was closed, resisting the urge to punch in the glass.

Tsunade and Jiraiya set on the office chair, obviously making out. Naruto's eye twitched at seeing them. How could they be so happy?

Tsunade jumped off Jiraiya's lap and quickly came to open the window. The blond jumped in, landing gracefully on his feet. He pushed back his hood and mask. Underneath was another mask. Of pain and disbelief, confusion and hopeful denial.

"Gaki?" Jiraiya questioned from behind the desk. "What's wrong? You look like shit."

Naruto swallowed against the lump in his throat. Now was the time to ask. To find out if Kabuto had been right. Did he really want to know? If he didn't ask and never found out, he could go on like before, pretending that they hadn't lied to him. Would it make any difference if he knew?

"Is... is it true?" Naruto stammered and immediately hated his voice for sounding so pathetic. "Is it true... that the Yondaime was my father?"

Tsunade's hazel eyes widened in shock. "Who told you?" she asked without thinking.

Naruto felt the last spark of hope die out. They had known. The pain in his chest rose to a consuming black hole, making his whole body shake.

_**Told you so.**_

The blond closed his eyes against the new onslaught of blind fury. He felt the demon cackling in delight, feeding off his pain and the new certainty that his precious people had betrayed him. Yet again.

Naruto's fine ears registered the shocked gasps of his team mates, who were huddling by the window. Jiraiya got up, pushing back the chair. Someone was walking towards him, mumbling soothing words, but he didn't want to hear them

Naruto opened his eyes and took a step back from the people in the room.

"_Who told you?_ That is all you say now that I found out on my own?" he spat at his Hokage, not caring about the way he was talking to the leader of his village. As his Tsunade-baachan, the woman should have felt compelled to tell him about his parents.

"You have known all this time, but none of you ever told me! Why? WHY?" he blinked against the burning sensation in his eyes, knowing very well that his eyes were a bright crimson now.

Jiraiya took another slow step towards his godchild. "Naruto –" he began, but was cut off, as Naruto harshly pulled away from his touch.

"_You_," he snarled at his teacher, "I spent three years with you and _not once_ did you feel like telling me about my father?"

His voice was icy, but he didn't even flinch at the fact that the demon inside him took pleasure in seeing the distressed expressions on his friends' faces. Or maybe it was his own joy.

"Even when you taught me the Rasengan... you didn't say anything. You said how much I reminded you of a former student... WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THE TRUTH?" the boy screamed the last part. "YOU LIED TO ME! ALL THOSE YEARS!"

Tsunade's eyes were glistening with tears, but Naruto didn't care. They should know how much it hurt to know that they had been betraying him.

"Naruto, please," Tsunade pleaded. "We only tried to protect you!"

"_Protect me?_ How did not knowing my parents protect me?" Naruto yelled. "It would have made _all the difference_! No one would have dared to touch the Yondaime's son! No one would have dared to make the Yondaime's son's life miserable! _No one would have hurt the child of their hero!_"

Hot tears were running down his whiskered cheeks. He wiped at them furiously, but all thoughts on not looking weak were long forgotten.

Tsunade and Jiraiya cringed at Naruto's words. The Hokage was pressing a hand against her mouth, mumbling a mantra of "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" over and over again.

Naruto didn't want to hear their excuses. They had known. They had lied to him. They had betrayed him.

They had _hurt_ him. Because he had trusted them, considered them family. But you told family about their own parents. Right?

Logic was once again eluding him. The fact that neither Jiraiya nor Tsunade had been in Konoha during his childhood didn't matter to him. He was furious and disappointed of the Sandaime. It should have been his job to tell him. Or Kakashi's. Kakashi had always been around. Never telling him the truth.

"I trusted you," Naruto whispered and crimson eyes met first hazel, then the dark ones of his sensei.

Then Naruto disappeared in a whirl of leaves.

* * *

><p>A stunned silence filled the Hokage's office. Until Tsunade began to cry softly. Jiraiya put his arms around her, gently stroking her hair.<p>

Kiba opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, not really sure of what to say, not really sure if he should say anything.

"Troublesome," muttered Shikamaru, lighting a cigarette, and taking a soothing drag.

Neji climbed through the open window and stood in front of the huge desk. He didn't want to disturb the Hokage, but he thought that the woman needed to know what had led to this situation.

Together with Kiba and Shikamaru, he reported first about their original mission, which had been the first failure in a serious of disastrous events. Tsunade and Jiraiya listened, their expressions grew grim when the boys came to Kabuto and Naruto's loss of control over the Kyuubi.

Together, they deduced what had transpired between the criminal and the blond captain.

Some time during the report, Kakashi wandered into the office, his orange porn book in hand, greeting everyone with his famous eye-smile. But at hearing what was going on, his book vanished, as did his smile.

To say the grey-haired jounin felt sorry about the whole situation, would have been an understatement. Kakashi didn't dare to imagine how Naruto must be feeling right now; convinced of the fact that the knowledge about his parentage would have spared him so much pain during his childhood.

And who knew? Maybe the villagers wouldn't have hated Naruto, had they known whose son they were tormenting. But the Sandaime Hokage had decided against revealing who Naruto really was. They would never know for sure whether it would have changed Konoha's opinion of the Jinchuuriki.

"Where is he?" Kakashi asked, feeling the need to comfort his favourite student.

Shrugs were his answer, so he decided to go looking for the blond ANBU in all his usual spots. Kakashi's search turned out fruitless. Naruto wasn't at home, nor on top of the Hokage mountain. He wasn't at the training grounds, nor at one of the restaurants.

Sad to have failed his student, Kakashi gave up his search and went home. Hoping that Naruto would seek him out if he wanted to talk to him.

* * *

><p>Naruto had wished for a place, in which he could be alone with himself and his inner demons. Unknowingly, his shunshin had taken him to the one place, no one would ever suggest looking for him.<p>

His feet kicked a small pebble along the lonely streets of the deserted Uchiha district. Silence was all around him; a dead district, just right for his mood.

He hadn't been here since before Sasuke betrayed the village. And even then, Naruto hadn't been here often. But today, it was the perfect place to hide from his precious people.

His feet carried him through the streets, aimlessly walking from house to house. Eventually, he reached the small lake at the outskirts of the district. Trees surrounded the grassy shore. No waves moved the water. It lay as still as the rest of the abandoned area.

The blond flopped down on the grass and was reminded of the last time he had been here. They had been seven years old, innocent and happy. Sasuke had not yet been robbed of his family and Naruto had not yet known about the Kyuubi living inside him.

They had been carefree children, almost like the rest of the students in the academy. They had been friends. And rivals.

Sasuke had been practising a fire jutsu his father had shown to him and Naruto had begged him to teach it to him. No one taught Naruto cool jutsus like that. He had had no one, who would teach him anything willingly.

They had struggled together with their small arms and Sasuke had pushed him into the lake. Naruto snorted as he thought about how he had almost drowned, because he didn't know how to swim. Sasuke had rescued him, pulled him to the shore and then he had promised him to teach him how to swim.

It was one of Naruto's favourite memories, because it had been the first time that anyone had ever cared enough about him, to make a promise to him.

But Sasuke had never kept it. Naruto still didn't know how to swim.

_**You're pathetic, Uzumaki. Stop thinking about the Uchiha!**_ Naruto's inner demon growled. He felt the deep hatred, when he snarled the name 'Uchiha'.

_Why? _he questioned, silently wondering what reason the demon had to hate Sasuke. _Don't you like him, because he tried to kill us?_

A bellowing laughter was the answer. _**Please, human, don't flatter yourself! I don't care what that brat did to you.**_

Naruto mentally hit himself for assuming that the demon would actually care about him. _Then why do you hate him so much?_

The Kyuubi's momentary amusement was gone and replaced by deadly seriousness. _**I hate them all! This arrogant clan!**_

A cold shiver crept up Naruto's spine at the intensity of the demon's hatred.

He was about to ask him why, not really expecting an answer, when Naruto was surprised. The fox began talking of his own volition and told him about the day he had attacked Konoha, the day of his birth and the day the Kyuubi had been controlled by the Sharingan of one Uchiha Madara and the day he had been freed from his former vessel, Uzumaki Kushina, Naruto's mother.

Naruto listened, highly interested, and actually glad that the fox was guiding him away from his own painful thoughts.

_So there actually is someone you hate more than me, _Naruto joked cynically, after his tenant had finished his story.

_**Foolish human, don't mistake my words for affection. There is no one I hate more than Uchiha Madara and his damned eyes! But I still hate you for the fact that I am imprisoned in a brat like you!**_

_Thanks so much,_ Naruto snorted bitterly.

_**Still, you are not the worst vessel so far.**_

Naruto paused at his words. _Not the worst? Is that a compliment, Kyuubi? Don't let that Madara fellow hear you or he'll think you're going soft._

_**Insolent brat,**_ the fox growled, mentally clawing at his jailer.

* * *

><p>Naruto woke up to the sun blinding him through closed lids. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat up. His whole body was stiff from falling asleep on the grassy shore of the lake. Judging from the position of the sun, it was around noon.<p>

The blond decided it was time to take a shower and he left in the direction of his apartment, hoping that no one was waiting for him. He was so not in the mood to see anyone.

Kami denied him his wishes, as a figure clad in a white cloak was standing in front of his door, obviously waiting for him. As the boy came closer, he saw that the person was wearing a mask, but none he had ever seen in ANBU before.

"The Council Elders request a meeting with you, Uzumaki-san," the masked person said as a greeting.

Naruto arched an eyebrow at him. "They request it, huh? When?"

"Two hours ago," the taller man answered and was gone in a whirl of leaves.

Naruto opened his door, not amused at being ordered around today. However, he knew better than to ignore a summons by the Elders. Better to get this over with as quickly as possible. He said good-bye to the idea of taking a shower and only took off his weapons; at least the visible ones.

Ten minutes later, the still dishevelled-looking Naruto stood in front of the Elder's room in the Hokage Tower. He was admitted immediately and led inside the room by a white-cloaked ANBU.

"Uzumaki-san," the only woman, Utatane Koharu, greeted him. "Please take a seat."

Naruto hesitated for a second, but for once reason won over stubbornness, and he sat on the red sofa in front of the three Elders.

"It's a pleasure to see you, Uzumaki-san," Shimura Danzo said sweetly, while taking in his appearance with a distasteful snarl.

"What do you want?" Naruto asked bluntly, not caring if his behaviour might be considered rude.

"Straight to the point, I like that," Danzo said. Leaning back on the sofa, studying the blond ANBU captain for a moment. "So we will be just as blunt with you, Uzumaki."

Naruto noticed the lack of the '-san' at the end of his name, and he knew that whatever was following, he wouldn't like it.

"We want you to do something for us. Consider it a mission."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "I do missions for Konoha all the time."

"Yes, and as we hear it, you are quite successful with your team," Danzo continued. "But this mission is rather... unofficial."

The blond scowled at him, but Danzo remained unfazed.

"Forget it," Naruto snarled, "I won't get caught up in your schemes. I am loyal to Konoha, so hand in this mission and I might do it. But I don't do 'unofficial'."

Danzo studied him levelly with his one unbandaged eye. "Your loyalty to Konoha is commendable, Uzumaki. But unfortunately, you don't have a choice in this."

"Then why ask?" Naruto spat, his carefully buried anger spiking once more.

"Oh, we didn't want to make this look like blackmail," Danzo answered sweetly and smirked, satisfied, at the boy's angry face.

"This is blackmail!" Naruto protested, but before he could say more, Danzo started talking again.

"This will be blackmail, after you hear what we will do, if you don't cooperate with us."

Naruto's scowl deepened, but he listened.

"We know what you and your ANBU team are doing, Uzumaki," Danzo declared. "And I cannot help but admit that I am indeed pleased with the fact that you are working so hard to eliminate the threat, that the Akatsuki is posing to our village. But we cannot allow you to continue your hunt."

Naruto wasn't surprised that the Elders had heard of his personal goal. But why forbid him going after the Akatsuki?

"We acknowledge your strength and talent as a ninja, Uzumaki." At seeing the blond's eyebrows raise in surprise, he added, "This might surprise you, but you have long convinced us of your power and skills. The success rate of your missions speaks for itself and your fellow ANBU speak very highly of you."

_Huh, who would have thought?_ Naruto grinned internally, rather pleased with himself, despite everything else. On the outside, his face remained an expressionless mask.

"Since we acknowledge your strength and... for other specific reasons... you are the only one we think will be successful with this mission." The Elder stopped for a moment, then, "So, do you accept, Uzumaki?"

Naruto waited, but nothing else followed. Therefore he said, amused, "I think I missed the blackmailing part of your speech. Boosting my ego isn't enough to make me agree."

Danzo pursed his lips. "I didn't think so." He took a deep breath, as if whatever he was going to say next, cost him a lot of energy. "I had hoped it wouldn't come to this, Uzumaki."

Naruto marvelled at the old man's acting skills. His whole demeanour told Naruto that he was very pleased with himself so far.

_Here it comes,_ Naruto thought bitterly, wondering what they were going to use to blackmail him.

"It has come to our attention that your control over the Kyuubi is waning." He didn't wait to hear Naruto's protests. "While we agree that this development is not to be underestimated in its danger, we still think that you, Uzumaki, would do everything in your power to prevent Konoha from coming to harm."

Naruto inwardly rolled his eyes at Danzo's long and complicated sentences. "Get to the point."

"As I said," he went on, ignoring the interruption, "_we_ don't think that you are posing a danger to Konoha. But others may think so."

"What do you mean?" the blond asked suspiciously.

"Imagine what the rest of the council – especially the civilians – would say to your fading control over the Kyuubi. What do you think they would do?"

Naruto though about it. While the council held no real love for him, the demon brat, they didn't openly despise him. Still, they would be afraid to say the least, if they knew about the Kyuubi possibly breaking free. Naruto himself didn't think that the Kyuubi was actually breaking free. He was still in control. Only when his emotions were in turmoil or when he was really exhausted, did the seal weaken.

Sure, right now he was rather agitated, emotionally, but that didn't mean that he was endangering the village. Or did it?

But what would the council do, if they heard of his latest episode with Kabuto? Naruto didn't know how Tsunade had reacted, but he was certain that his team mates had reported the incident to the Hokage. If the woman had anything to say about it, she had yet to contact him. Well, Naruto hadn't been exactly available in the last past hours.

But the council... They were always looking out to protect the village and its inhabitants. But so was he. However, if they regarded him as a danger to Konoha, they would probably try to eliminate that danger. Since Naruto was sure that they wouldn't try to eliminate _him _– since still no one knew for sure what would happen to the Kyuubi, if Naruto died – they would at least try to prevent anything that might provoke Naruto to lose control over the Kyuubi.

Seeing as he mostly used the Kyuubi's power in moments of great emotional turmoil or when his own chakra was depleted, that would mean that they had to keep him from fighting and using chakra. That in consequence, meant to missions. No missions meant staying in Konoha.

_Duh, shit._ He concluded.

"I see you worked it out, Uzumaki," Danzo applauded with a smirk. "If the council got wind of your using the Kyuubi too much, they would simply forbid you to go on missions and keep you under strict supervision inside the village's walls."

"So if I don't cooperate, you will tell the council about the Kyuubi and they will keep me from doing missions. Is that it?" Naruto asked, outwardly nonchalantly, but inwardly growling at the Elders with bared, pointy teeth.

"That is part of it, yes," Danzo confirmed, but apparently, there was more. "We also cannot have you doing ANBU missions for a while."

"Why not?"

"Seeing how ANBU missions are exponentially more dangerous than regular missions, the possibility of you getting harmed is exponentially higher. But we don't want you to get harmed. We need you to do this mission for us."

"So until I agree to help you, I won't be able to take ANBU missions? How will you ensure that? As an ANBU I take missions directly from the Hokage. You have no influence in this area." He shrugged it off.

Danzo narrowed his one small eye at him. This boy was getting on his nerves. "You will simply tell Tsunade that you won't take ANBU missions for a while."

"And what if I don't?" the blond asked coolly, being as annoyed as Danzo by now.

"We tell the council about your lack of control over the Kyuubi," Danzo said. Naruto had the feeling the man was repeating himself.

He pondered his options. Either not agreeing to their blackmailing him and they told the council about the Kyuubi, or he agreed and he did that mission. And then what? Whatever this mission was, it seemed to be important to them. And besides, there was no assurance that they wouldn't try to use their knowledge against him again in the future.

And the council was bound to find out about the incident with Kabuto eventually. It would probably take some time, but eventually, they always found out.

A provocative grin spread over Naruto's face. Should they tell the council, he didn't care. "I don't give a fuck about your mission. Go tattle to the council and let's see what they do!"

The third Elder, Mitokado Homura, jumped up from the sofa with unexpected agility, outrage on his face. "You will not talk to us like that, demon!"

Naruto slowly got to his feet. As old as the man was, he still stood taller than him. He lifted his eyes up to his. "Or what?" Naruto threatened, eyes flashing red.

They didn't know Uzumaki Naruto very well, if they thought they could scare him into obedience.

"Ne, ne," Danzo made, trying to pacify the two. He gestured to the red sofa behind Naruto. "Please sit down again, Uzumaki-san."

Naruto only stared back at him defiantly.

"Very well," he conceded and stood in front of the blond. The victory was short-lived.

"I think there is a misunderstanding here, boy," Danzo said; sounding more dangerous than before. Naruto suddenly had the feeling that he had been seriously underestimating the man.

"You _will _help us, sooner or later," he told him. "I'd prefer, if you just agree."

"I already told you I don't care about the council's decision," Naruto said, sounding final. He was in mid-turn, when Danzo's next words made him stop dead.

"You don't seem to care much about your own fate, but maybe you care about the fate of your friends."

That got his attention. "What are you saying?" Naruto growled lowly, not turning back to the three Elders.

"I am saying that while we might not have an influence on _your _missions, we still have a say in the regular missions. And wouldn't it be a pity, if your precious friends suddenly found themselves doing the most dangerous S-class missions available?"

Naruto heard the satisfaction in the old man's voice. "Leave my friends out of this!" he snarled, trembling with fury.

"It's either do this for us, or see your friends getting injured. You choose, boy."

Naruto whirled around, moving too fast for their aged eyes to see. His hand closed around Danzo's throat, forcing him to stand on his tiptoes. Naruto enjoyed the shortest moment of actual fear in his eyes.

Naruto was trying to think fast. With all that had happened in the last few days, it was hard to form some coherent ideas. The Elder's blackmailing him was a serious matter. But so were their threats. Did he have the option to go tell Tsunade about their approaching him? But just the idea of once again putting his trust in the Hokage, was making Naruto feel uneasy.

Tsunade and he were having some issues to sort out, but right now, Naruto didn't like the idea to ask the older woman for help one bit. Relying on her now felt wrong and the trust between them was broken.

And what if Naruto just went to the rest of the council and told them about the whole situation? But what proof did he have? No one would ever believe him over the word of the Elders. And he didn't even know what they wanted him to do. He couldn't actually tell on them and say something like 'The mean Elders want to blackmail me, but I really don't know what evil plan they have!'.

Naruto almost sweat-dropped at his inner ramblings. The Elders' mission could be something totally harmless for all he knew. And without proof there really wasn't anything he could do. It was his word against theirs, if he attempted to arrest them or anything as rash.

So deep down, Naruto knew they had him. There was not much he valued more than his friends' safety.

They knew Uzumaki Naruto very well, if they thought they could scare him into obedience by threatening his precious people.

Naruto was trembling with fury and the by now familiar feeling behind his eyes told him they had changed from blue to red once again.

The knowing grin on Danzo's face made him sick.

"Look at that, wouldn't the council love to see you like that," Danzo provoked him further.

But Naruto was not done yet. He knew it was unlikely, but if he just took all the S-class missions on his own, then they couldn't give them to his friends. He would just persuade Tsunade that his friends weren't assigned those missions and everything would be fine.

He wouldn't let them blackmail him.

Naruto forced his eyes back to blue and turned to leave.

"You might think you have a choice, Uzumaki. But you don't." Danzo's words echoed behind him as he slammed the door shut.

Two minutes later, he was knocking on the door to the Hokage's office. Schooling his face into an expressionless mask, Naruto entered.

Relief at seeing Naruto, washed over the Hokage's face. "Naruto!" she exclaimed softly, so happy to see the boy she considered her son.

"Hokage-sama," Naruto greeted, getting down on one knee, all business.

Tsunade immediately sensed that the boy hadn't come to talk about yesterday.

"I came to let you know that I want to take a break from ANBU for some time," he said, no emotion swinging in his words.

"Um... sure, Naruto." Tsunade would grant Naruto practically everything right now. If that meant that the boy would forgive her. "Can I ask why?"

"No," the other said, still looking at the floor.

"Um... okay. Well, I think it's a good idea that you're taking some downtime," the older woman said, trying to make polite conversation.

"I don't intend to take a break. I ask you to assign me to all the regular S-class missions."

"What!" Tsunade exclaimed. "But that's more than ten missions a day! And long-term ones at that! Apart from it being impossible, why would you want to do that, Naruto? Why not keep doing ANBU missions then?"

Shit, Naruto hadn't thought that there were so many S-class missions. Maybe he hadn't thought this one through completely.

Not answering to Tsunade's questions, he just said, "Then I'll just take the most dangerous ones. Starting today."

Tsunade shook her head in bafflement. "Today? Naruto, from the looks of it, you haven't even showered after your last mission. I won't give you another mission today."

Naruto then looked up at her, pleading her silently with hurting eyes.

Tsunade sighed, defeated. "All S-class missions for today have been assigned already. Take a shower, eat and sleep, and come back tomorrow morning to the Mission Assignment Office."

Naruto nodded and got up to leave.

Tsunade's voice held him back. "Naruto... what's going on?"

"Nothing I cannot take care of myself." With that, Naruto left. Through the door.

* * *

><p><strong>Somewhere in a dark cave, far away from Konoha:<strong>

"How did it go?" the masked man asked, looking down from his position on the rock on the man to his feet.

"The reaction was as expected. The boy rejected the offer to join us and I told him about his parents," the hooded man to his feet explained.

"He really didn't know yet?" the masked asked doubtfully.

"No. But finding out the truth like this will certainly influence him."

"Very well." The masked man jumped down from his rock. "I bet this will drive a wedge between him and his village."

"I still don't think he will join us freely," the hooded man got up to his feet, standing a tad taller than the other.

"You are young, you don't know what suspicion and betrayal can do to a person's heart. One can only endure so much."

"Still, I'm afraid we are underestimating the enigma that is Uzumaki Naruto."

The hooded man glanced down, finding the sole red eye behind the orange mask.

_**To be continued...**_

* * *

><p><strong>Whoa, that was dark and intense and I think rather depressive... I guess a mixture of feeling pretty melancholic for no real reason and a bit too much wine, made this chapter more angsty and intense than I had anticipated. I hope you still like it!<strong>

**Oh, and the Kyuubi's chakra destroyed Naruto's clothes after the Kyuubi-fication. I always wondered how the demon was able to restore the fabric... It doesn't make sense to me at all! And also his team mates needed to see the scar on his chest! I never mention anything without a reason, keep that in mind, dear readers! ;)**

**Part 2 of Chapter 15 will be up next week!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**xXHaneliXx**


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